A Second Chance
by Supreme-Writer
Summary: What if Buffy was found by Sam and Dean instead of the Scoobies when she crawled out of her grave in "Bargaining Part 2"? How different would not only Buffy's life but the Winchester's lives had been if they all met each other? Eventual Buffy/Dean
1. An Introduction Slayer Style!

OK, this is my first Buffy/Supernatural FanFic and I just want to pay a HUGE THANKS to Alcharma, who helped me out a lot during the writings of this chapter, and to twiztv for all the transcripts.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing... Buffy belongs to Joss Wheedon and Supernatural belongs to Eric Kripke... This story was made purely for fun, not profit.

This chapter is what I would think would happen if Buffy stumbled into the Winchester boys when she crawled out of her grave... So this story is taken from the twiztv transcript of "Bargaining Part 2" but had been re worded and mixed up a little with the Winchester boy's.

Hope you enjoy the story and I would appreciate reviews and any criticism you may have, good or bad.

* * *

--

Chaos erupted below: lightning crackling out from the portal, piercing holes in the sky, out from one of the holes flew a giant dragon, flying above the tower as they watched.

"Buffy, you have to let me go. Blood starts it, and until the blood stops flowing, it'll never stop," Dawn Summers yelled over the loud cackling of the portal below them. Buffy stared at her little sister in anguish. How could she watch her sister kill herself? She knew it wasn't supposed to be like this; Dawn was meant to grow up, get a good job, marry a nice man, and have lovely children. She wasn't supposed to be the Key to some hell dimension. How could Buffy watch her sister die to save the world?

That was supposed to be her job. That's what a Slayer is after all.

Buffy never had a childhood. She was never given the chance to be a normal teenager, but she knew that her sister could live a normal life. She would choose her sisters happiness over her own. Buffy frowned and turned around slowly. She watched the portal grow bigger and bigger and brighter and brighter and the sky grew lighter as the sun slowly rose. Buffy smiled peacefully to herself, knowing what she had to do, and she turned back to her sister with a faint smile.

"Buffy... no!" Dawn disagreed, wide-eyed, knowing exactly what her sister was thinking of doing.

"Dawnie, I have to," Buffy told her baby sister softly.

Dawn shook her head. "No!"

Buffy took hold of Dawn's upper arm, "Listen to me. Please, there's not a lot of time, listen." She paused until Dawn looked back up, tears falling down her face.

"I love you. I will _always _love you. But this is the work that I have to do." Buffy smiled again at her sister, whose face grew lighter in the rising sunlight. Buffy shuffled on her feet, squeezed Dawn's shoulders, and licked her lips. "Tell Giles... tell Giles I figured it out. And, and I'm okay. And give my love to my friends; you have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other." Dawn cried silently and continued to look down at the metal floor as Buffy continued, "You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world ... is to live in it." Dawn cried harder, and Buffy once again squeezed her shoulders comfortingly. "Be brave. Live." Buffy began to smile, "For me." She finished, stroking the side of Dawn's face and kissing her on the cheek as she continued to cry. Buffy let her sister go and she turned. As she watched the sun poke its head out, she drew in a deep breath and ran down the platform, ignoring her sister's screams, before swan-diving off the end of the platform and into the portal. Electricity ran straight through her body; a piercing, white-hot electricity which sent her reeling in pain for a few seconds. After a while Buffy stopped moving, and she hung limply in the sky...

_"Be brave. Live. For me"_

_--  
_

Buffy opened her eyes seconds later, what felt like seconds later, and gasped for breath and began scratching at the wood surrounding her. She looked around, terrified, realizing that she was trapped inside a box.

A coffin.

She clawed at the coffin, ripping the white silk fabric that covered the wood above her until she reached the mahogany underneath. Then she punched as hard as she could. The more she punched at the wood, the more terrified she became, and the more terrified she became the more she punched. Buffy clawed and slammed her fists into the coffin lid until the wood split and dirt spilled in, covering her body. Drawing in a deep breath she dug her way through the dirt, leaving the tight wooden box behind her and clawing for air, and just as she was gasping for breath, her hand reached the soft damp surface above. Within seconds the other hand burst out from below, and both hands grabbed and the surface and pulled the rest of her body out of the dirt. Buffy pulled herself up onto the grass and lay on her stomach panting, as she looked around fearfully at the place around her, not really taking any of the environments in but trying to figure out what had happened. One minute she was jumping into the portal, and then the next minute she was crawling out from the ground? She slowly got to her feet shakily - like she hadn't used her leg muscles in months – and turned around to look at the place she crawled out of. Next to the ground she pulled herself from was a large dark marble stone with silver words carved into the stone. Buffy squinted and focused her eyes as she read the words:

BUFFY ANNE SUMMERS

1981-2004

BELOVED SISTER

DEVOTED FRIEND

SHE SAVED THE WORLD

A LOT

Buffy frowned in confusion, wondering why her name was written on the stone, until she finally understood, and her eyes widened in shock. She hastily walked backwards, still staring at her name in the cold stone, but tripped over a broken orange porcelain jug and quickly got back to her feet before fleeing the graveyard. She had no idea where to run too.

Minutes later Buffy walked past a burning vehicle; the orange flames burned her sensitive eyes as she walked down a street in downtown Sunnydale that was littered with debris. In her eyes, everything was blurry and indistinct and she had to squint as she passed a long row of burning cars. Hearing a muffled yet thunderous roar she stopped in her tracks just as a demon rode past her on a motorcycle and threw a beer bottle to the ground that smashed at Buffy's feet, causing her to back away and scamper up another street. A siren suddenly wailed in the background and pierced through her head; she grabbed at her temple and leaned against a car on the driveway behind her. At the faint touch the car's lights came on and its security system wailed and honked. Buffy pressed her hands over her ears in pain, trying to drown out the noise, as the house lights came on and the front door opened, revealing a blurry figure.

"What are you doing?" he asked Buffy angrily. Buffy peered at him through her fingers. Even though her vision was still blurry, she could make out the shotgun in his hand. "Get away from there!" The man yelled at her, lifting up the gun. Buffy squinted at him; she was hearing what he was saying, but had trouble understanding why he was upset. "Do you hear me?" The man walked out further onto the porch. "I said get off my property!" Buffy just stood there frowning and squinting, to scared and confused to know what to do. "Leave us alone. Get outta here!" He yelled again, firing the shotgun in the air. Buffy immediately turned on her heel and ran off as fast as her shaky legs would carry her.

Eventually, she stopped running when the street was out of sight, but the sound of demonic cheering caught her attention, and she followed the noise. She was too far away to make out what was being said, but she could see several biker demons all gathered around in a huge parking lot with burning barrels and trash cans scattered around the parking lot. Buffy stopped when she was about a hundred feet away, and listened carefully to what one demon - who she gathered as the leader - was saying to the others.

"... So I figure, what better way to kick off our ... semi-settling-down, than with a little christening?" the leader growled,_really_ violent swoop." He giggled. Buffy was now standing right behind a couple of the demons and the others cheered. Buffy caught sight of a couple of demons attaching chains to their motorcycles, grinning at each other as the cheering continued, and she walked closer to examine more. "A symbolic act commemorating the new order around here ... and ridding ourselves of any not-so-pleasant reminders of the old," the leader spoke up again. He held up a gun, a small pistol, and theatrically put a bullet in one of the barrels. "All in one quick, really, , but they hadn't noticed her, and she watched in curiosity, extremely confused as to what was going on around her. The leader held up the pistol, "Gentlemen, start your engines."

Buffy heard four demons start up their bikes. Seeing that a chain was attached their four back wheels, her eyes widened when she caught sight of herself standing between all four bikes. The chains that she had previously seen attached to the bikes were connected to her; one to each arm and leg. The four demons sat still on their bikes with engines rumbling. Buffy saw the other Buffy catch sight of her in surprise.

"Bye-bye, Slayer!" The leader laughed. Buffy took a step closer and watched the other Buffy call out her name, but she was unable to hear her over the rumbling engines. Then suddenly, the leader fired the pistol into the air and Buffy saw the bikers accelerate.

"No!" Buffy screamed hoarsely. But she screamed to late as the four motorcycles all moved off in four different directions, and Buffy saw the Other-Buffy's arms and legs rip from her body and her torso fly into the air. The demons that heard Buffy yell turned to face her. The leader smiled when he spotted her, and she looked around anxiously as the demons near her moved aside so that all the other demons could see her.

"Another one for the fire, boys," the leader told his minions. Buffy looked at the leader, alarmed, and figuring that they were planning on doing the same to her as to what they did with the other Buffy. "Tear it up." The leader told his minions nonchalantly.

Buffy backed away as the demons came at her then turned and ran down the street. One of the demons on a motorcycle rode through the crowd and cut her off her path, and as she turned to run in the other direction, she saw another one coming at her, this time he swung a chain over his head. Buffy decided to go with her gut instinct and she ran toward the demon swinging the chain and the other demon, the first one that cut her off, followed. As the demon swung the chain at her, she ducked, which caused the chain to whip the first demon that followed her in the face and he fell off his bike. The other demon stopped the motorcycle and helped the other up with an apology as Buffy ran for safety. She leaped over a large pile of debris and flung herself over a nearby fence.

--

"Watch it!" A man yelled as Buffy dropped to the ground. When Buffy heard the male voice she froze, crouching on the ground, and stared at the two men in front of her through her muddy, brownhair.

"Hello?" Said the man who spoke a moment ago and moved a little closer but stopped when Buffy flinched.

"Are... Are you OK?" Another other man, a taller man with long shaggy hair, asked her, concern on his face, but he didn't move from his spot. Buffy stared fearfully at the two men in front of her, who both held shotguns, and then got up slowly and pushed them both out of her way as she ran down the road.

"Wait!" The shorter man yelled as the pair chased after her. Buffy ran into a dead-end alley and, realizing there was nowhere else to run, she hid behind one of the two giant warehouse dumpsters, keeping silent as she heard loud footsteps come into the alley.

"Where did she go?" One of the men asked as they reached the dead end. Buffy watched as the taller man crept around the dumpster and caught sight of her crouching against the wall.

"Hello?" He said as he moved a little closer. Buffy huddled herself, trying to hide deeper into the wall, with her hair obscuring her face. The man walked slowly toward her, and the other man slowly came up behind him. "M-My name is Sam. Can you hear me?" The tall man asked as he crouched down to see her properly.

"Sammy, she..." Buffy looked up at the two men, then back at the wall, and all around the alley, very nervously, to figure out where she was. When Buffy looked back at the man she now knew as Sam, she saw him smile.

"Hey, this is my brother Dean," Sam told Buffy pointing at the man behind him. Buffy glanced up at Dean before resting her head back onto the wall and ignoring them both. "What's wrong with her?" Buffy heard Sam ask when he left her side to join his brother. Dean looked over at Buffy and examined her: her black dress was muddy and in tatters, her black shoes were also muddy, and her long brown hair was shaggy and covered in dirt. "Dean, look at her. She's filthy. What happened to her? "Sam asked empathetically. Dean shook his head as he examined her face and hands. "What?" Sam asked when Dean said nothing but crouched next to Buffy and examined her bloody, skinless knuckles.

"Her hands" Dean said after a moment, "I've seen this before." Sam crouched next to Dean and checked out her hands too.

"Oh god," he grimaced.

"Remember in Jersey, when we checked out that vampire nest and we found that freshie?" Dean said, not taking his eyes off Buffy's bruised hands.

Sam nodded, "Yeah, we got there as he crawled out-" Sam stopped and his eyes widened in realization, "She... She-"

"Crawled out her own grave" Dean finished, watching as Buffy was still crouching fearfully.

"Is she a vampire?"

Dean didn't answer straight away; he thought for a moment, pursing his lips as he did so until he spoke. "I don't know, Sam. You'd think she would've tried to eat us by now instead of running us around in circles," Dean replied. Sam didn't reply; he only grimaced at the painful cuts on her hands.

"Hello?" Buffy glanced up once again and saw the two blurry male figures. "Hello?" Dean's voice was muffled in her ears. "My name is Dean... remember?" His muffled voice told her. "Are you human?" he asked. Buffy turned her head away, letting her hair cover her face again.

"Dean, you aren't reaching her, she's too traumatized." Sam said after Dean let out an annoyed sigh.

"Well, how are we supposed to know if she's human or not?"

"Welcome home, Slayer," a deep growl cooed from the other side of the bins. The two brothers stood up and turned their attention to the several demons blocking the only exit. "So, she's alive and kickin' after all!" The leader said, slightly annoyed before smiling, "Well, alive, anyway." He laughed. Buffy finally tilted her head up and watched the interaction between the demon and the two brothers. "Not looking too good, though, is she?" The leader said lightly at the boys, the sounds still muffled in Buffy's ears.

The Slayer watched Dean laugh, "I don't see you winning too many beauty contests," Dean held the sawed-off shotgun up at the demon, "...unless the Miss 'My Face Fell Off' pageant gets going." Dean laughed again.

The leader smiled dryly and pointed at the gun, "Nice shotgun you got there."

"The better to shoot you down to size, grandma." Dean said dryly and he pulled the bottom of the shotgun back and forth - a loud clacking sound filled the alley - and kept the gun pointed directly at the demon. Sam looked nervously at Dean then back to the leader who began walking toward them but stopped when Dean fired a shot into his chest. The demon just looked down at the holes in his leather outfit before smiling at the wide-eyed brothers and grabbing Dean by the throat and throwing him over to the metal dumpsters next to Buffy. Buffy slowly rose and watched Dean squirm and cough like he was winded. Then she turned to see the leader back handSam which sent him flying into the brick wall behind him.

"Now let me tell you something, children. We're not gonna fight you. We're just gonna hold you down and enjoy ourselves for a few hours." Sam groaned and Dean rolled to get off the dumpster, but the leader pinned him down by the troat and smiled. A couple of the demons headed over to Sam and pinned him up against the wall. Buffy stood up straighter, realizing that the two brothers were only human. Innocents.

"You might even live through it." The leader said to Dean as he drew out his claws, and Buffy walked out from behind the dumpster slowly. "Except that certain of my boys got some... anatomical incompatibilities that, uh, tend to tear up little girls." He looked over at Sam then back at Dean. "So, who wants to go first?" Buffy stood so she was in front of him, blocking Dean out of his path and glared at the demon. She'd had enough of his crap. The leader smiled and let go of Dean. "I was really hoping it'd be you," he replied then quickly back handed her in the face.

It was the same backhanded blow he delt Sam but all it did to Buffy was whip her head to one side. Even so, she stood strong and barely flinched, something that both shocked and impressed Sam.Buffy lifted her eyes and met Dean's confused green eyes for a moment until she slowly turned her head to once again face the leader, who was now looking a little uncertain. Buffy pursed her mouth together and her face suddenly hardened. The leader threw another punch, but Buffy stopped it mid-air, grabbing his fist and holding it immobile. Without a second thought Buffy punched him in the face with the other hand twice, then roundhouse kicked him in the jaw, and the leader just fell to the ground unconscious. The other demons look on at her nervously while Dean sat up on the dumpster and looked at Buffy, who still stood over the unconscious demon looking confused. Dean stared at her before looking over at Sam who wore the same confused expression on his face.

"Did we just win?" he joked dryly.

The other demons yelled and screeched and ran straight for the Slayer; Buffy kicked one of them in his chest, while Dean and Sam got to their feet, and Buffy blocked another demon's weapon and kicked him in the stomach. One demon ran for Dean who blocked the attack with his shotgun then drove the butt of the gun to its face. Buffy blocked a punch from another demon and punched him back in the face, then punched another one creeping up next to her.

Sam shot a round into the back of one of the demon's heads, who was about to attack Buffy from behind, before firing another shot at a different demon as it ran for him. A demon that Buffy had kicked away moments earlier drew out a knife and swung for her, but she grabbed his arm in both hands, paused to kick another demon away from behind her - who Sam shot seconds after - and swung the demon with the knife around and threw him into another demon and they both fell like bowling pins. Buffy then shoved another demon away, then ducked his coming fist and punched, ducked and punched the demon again until he fell to the floor.

Buffy was too involved in punching the demon that she didn't spot that she was surrounded by the other demons until they began hitting her with various weapons, and all she could do was huddle down on the ground under their blows until a moment of opportunitypresented itself. Moments later she sprung back up again, pushing and kicking them off her. When she was back on her feet, she kicked one in the groin, and as he fell, he took two more demons down with him. Another demon thrust a baseball bat at Buffy, but she grabbed it, used the tip of the handle to hit one demon in the face behind her, and then used the bottom of the bat to hit the demon in front of her in the face. While Buffy was using the demons as bowling balls, Sam was pinned against the wall by the throat from another demon until it was smashed in the back of the head by Dean's shotgun and fell backwards onto the floor. Suddenly Dean was grabbed by the shirt and was thrown down onto a pile of wood, dropping the shotgun as he flew, and the demon pinned him and giggled; Dean managed to get his feet up and kicked the demon off him and then leaped to his feet, grabbed one of the metal poles next to him and slammed it down into the demons chest.

Buffy turned from pummeling the demon with the baseball bat to see another demon fling a length of chain and watched it wrap around the bat. The demon then used the chain to pull the bat from her hand, and when she was weapon-less, the demon came at her with a knife. She blocked his stab with her arm, grabbed the knife-wielding arm and used the demons own hand to stab one of his fellow demons as he charged at her. Buffy then kicked out behind her, pushing away yet another demon and, as for the demon she held on to, she placed her hands on each side of his chin, grabbing as much skin as she could, then twisted his head around as sharp as she could, causing his neck to break. Buffy let go of the demon and let him fall limply to the ground. She then stopped and looked around at the several limp demon bodies scattered all over the alley. Sam and Dean slowly headedoverto Buffy, both still looking a little confused and also a little impressed.

"Well, they did say they wanted a massacre." Dean said lightly, resting the barrel of his shotgun on his shoulder and smiled broadly to Sam. Sam watched Buffy as she looked around at all the bodies. "Hey," he began, moving closer to her but she took a quick step backwards fearfully.

"Whoa," Sam said gently, holding his hands up, "It's OK." Buffy looked around at the bodies then at the brothers in anguish. She lifted her hand to her mouth and wiped the blood from her mouth, but tasting the acid, looked down at her hands too see them covered in the demons' blood. Tears began to form in her eyes; she looked back up at the pair before walking backwards then turning and breaking into a sprint around the corner.

"Hey!" Dean yelled as she disappeared from view.

--

Buffy sprinted out of the alley and as far away from the demons as possible. Only the adrenaline started to wear off and her legs shook so hard that she fell to the ground. It took a while for her legs to stop shaking, but when they did, she slowly got back up and was about to carry on running when she heard a loud creaking from above. Buffy looked up and saw a tower.

The tower that Glory's minions had built. The tower that she had jumped off and killed herself to save the world. She headed to the tower and climbed all the way to the top, heading slowly to the edge of the wobbly platform and closing her eyes.

_"Buffy... no!" She heard her sister's quivering voice in her head._

_"Dawnie, I have too" Buffy mouthed, remembering._

"Hey." Buffy frowned at the voice behind her, opened her eyes, and turned her head around to see Dean standing at the other end of the platform, inside the little arch at the top of the tower. "It's me, Dean... remember?" Dean said, gesturing at himself. Buffy looked blankly at Dean, not really acknowledging that he was really there, but Dean stepped forward. "What are you do-" The tower creaked and shuddered under his feet, and he grabbed the pole next to him for support and flinchednervously when he looked down and realized how far up he was. Buffy stood completely still, her Slayer strength keeping her from falling, and when the tower stopped shaking, she turned her head back to the end of the platform and looked at the ground below.

"Hey!" Dean yelled, holding a hand out, "You don't want to do that" he said nervously.

Buffy didn't say anything, she didn't turn around, and she just stood still looking at the ground below her. "Don't jump, alright. Whatever happened to you, Sam and I, we can help you. Just ... don't jump. Walk to me and we can come down," Dean explained as convincingly as he could. Dean tried to move again to get close enough to her, but the tower creaked underneath his feet. "Come on, come towards me... Quickly, because I think tower must have been built by crazy bastards and I don't think it's gonna hold much longer" Dean tried to joke. Buffy still didn't move. "What's your name?" Dean asked trying to sound like Sam, Sam always got through to people somehow. "Talk to me. Say something. Anything" Buffy frowned and opened her mouth.

"Is ... this hell?" Buffy asked quietly. Dean frowned, unsure whether he heard her right.

"What?" Buffy slowly turned and Dean saw her green eyes for the first time, hidden in an anguished frown.

"Is this hell?" Buffy asked again only a little louder.

Dean smiled nervously then laughed, "No! You're in uh, Sunnydale... Me and Sammy were passing through and we saw all the commotion..." Dean took another small step, "Look, I don't know what happened to you. I don't even know if your human, but I do know is that you're one of the good guys. Now, whatever happened to you, whatever you've been through, it ... it's over now. You're-" The tower started to shake fiercely beneath Dean's feet. "Whoa!" Dean held onto the pole beside him. "OK, we need to get of this thing now!" Dean yelled nervously. Buffy turned back around and looked down at the ground again.

"It was so ..." Buffy frowned and spoke quietly, "clear ... on this spot. I remember ... how ... shiny ... and clear everything was." She shook her head, "But ... now ... now..."

"Hey," Dean cut her off, "listen to me, we need to get off here _now_." Buffy closed her eyes and frowned.

"Dean!" She could hear the faint yelling of Sam below. Buffy still had her eyes closed and kept frowning, trying to understand how she came back. Dean shook his head and moved a couple of inches. Again, the tower shook hard, but this time, a piece of it fell off.

"Screw this" Dean muttered before running to Buffy, whilst trying to stay upright, grabbed her arm, and pulled her back off the platform seconds before half of it collapsed and fell to the cement. The tower shook violently as Dean took Buffy around one bend and he looked around for a quicker way off. Above him he spotted a pulley with rope going through it; he picked Buffy up and wrapped her arms around his neck, he held onto her legs and took hold of the pulley in one hand before leaping off the tower. Buffy buried her head in Dean's chest, terrified, as they plummeted downward. The pulley suddenly stopped when they were at least fifty feet away from the ground. "Ah, crap" Dean muttered just before the bolt holding the pulley secure broke off and he and Buffy fell the rest of the way, Buffy held onto Dean as tight as she could until they finally landed, Dean cushioning Buffy's fall.

"Dean!" Sam yelled from the other side of the tower. Dean lay on his back gasping for breath, as the fall had winded him, and Buffy lay with her head on Dean's chest gasping. They both heard a loud creek and both looked up to see the rest of the platform break off the tower and fall toward them. Dean grabbed hold of Buffy and they both rolled out of the way an instant before the platform crashed in the spot they once lay. "Dean?"

Dean pulled himself and Buffy up from the ground and stiffened. "Sammy! You took your time." Sam stopped when he reached his brother.

"You guys OK?" Dean groaned and stood up straighter.

"Oh, peachy" Dean joked. Sam glanced down at Dean's side; Buffy stood still and stared at the concrete floor.

"What are we going to do with her?" Sam asked. Dean looked down at Buffy and shrugged.

"Take her back to the motel, try and find out who she is. Clean her up." Sam nodded then turned his attention to Buffy. He placed a hand on her shoulder to which she looked up at him, tears streaming down her face.

"Hey, we're gonna take you back out our place and get you cleaned up OK?" Sam said. Buffy didn't answer but started walking when Sam led her out and over to their car. Dean gotinto the drivers seat and fired up the engine. Sam helped Buffy into the back seat before getting into the passenger seat beside Dean. Buffy rested her head on the window and stared blankly out the car, ignoring the loud, fast-paced music that was blaring in the car until they stopped outside a small, run-down motel. Sam helped Buffy out of the car while Dean opened the motel room door, and Buffy and Sam followed him inside. Buffy squinted at the bright light inside and stood in the middle of the room while Sam shut the door, and Dean fell into a chair and sighed. Sam led Buffy into the bathroom.

"You can wash up in here, and I'll just get you some clothes." Buffy sat on the edge of the bathtub until Sam came back with a pile of clothes. "There you go." Sam placed the clothes onto the toilet seat and stood uncomfortably for a moment. "Oh, the, uh, shower's a little hard to figure out." Sam stood beside Buffy and leaned over the bathtub and fiddled with a few knobs before warm water came out of the shower head. "There's fresh towels in the hamper... Dean and I will be in the next room if you need us," Sam said before leaving the bathroom and closing the door behind him.

Buffy slowly got up from the bathtub and stood next to the sink, wiping the condensation from the mirror and looking at the pale face staring back at her. She didn't recognize the woman staring miserably back at her; yes, she had the same hair, eyes, nose and mouth, but there was something in her eyes that seemed to have gone out. She stood there staring at herself for a long time before sliding the black dress off and stepping out of it. She undressed and stood in she shower, right under the head so the water cascaded down her whole body, and she just stood there for a few minutes before picking up the soap and washing away all the dirt and blood from the fight. She then washed her hair with the small bottle of shampoo and conditioner and cried to herself as the conditioner ran out of her hair. She rested her head onto the white tiles and cried softly, remembering everything that happened before she died: her friends, her sister, her mom... Angel...

Buffy emerged from the bathroom forty minutes later wearing one of Dean's blue checkered shirts. She didn't bother wearing the shorts Sam left for her as Dean's shirt was rather long on her. Dean and Sam were both sitting at the small kitchen table eating fast food from paper bags.

"Hey," Dean greeted as she came out of the bathroom, "I didn't know if you were hungry but..." He gestured toward the brown bag in the middle of the table. Buffy smiled slightly and shook her head.

"No thank you" she said hoarsely and sat on the edge of the bed furthest away from the boys. Dean looked up at Buffy with raised eyebrows.

"Hey, she talks," he joked. Buffy and Sam smiled slightly. Then, asSam watched Buffy rub at the sore spots on her knuckles, he got up and took out the first aid kit from one of the green duffel bags stuffed in one of the wardrobes and knelt on the floor beside her. He took Buffy's hand in his and wiped the cuts with cotton wool soaked in antiseptic fluid. She jerked her hand slightly when the cotton touched the deep cuts but kept still as Sam bandaged up her hand and did the same with the other. She thanked Sam when he finished, and she sat again in silence as the brothers stared at her. "OK," Dean sighed and got up and sat on the bed opposite of her to look her in the eye. "I'd really like some answers" he asked a little serious. Buffy said nothing and just looked at the floor.

"Could we at least know your name?" Sam asked.

"Buffy..." She spoke after a moment of silence, still looking at the floor, "Summers"

Dean looked over at Sam then back to Buffy. "Buffy Summers?"

Buffy nodded slightly.

"OK, where do you live?" Dean asked. Buffy carried on staring at the floor like it was the most fascinating thing in the world and didn't answer.

"We could take you home" Sam added. Buffy rubbed her hands together; home? As far as her friends knew, she was still in the ground. She didn't reply. She simply moved up the bed and rested herself against the headrest, continuing to stare off into space. "You look exhausted," Sam got up from his chair and turned out the main lights, leaving only the lamps on. "Why don't you get some rest." Buffy nodded and got inside the covers of the bed and got herself comfortable and closed her eyes.

"I'll flip you for the bed," she heard Dean joke before she fell asleep.

The next morning the sound of a door unlocking woke Buffy with a start. She sat upright in the bed just as Dean entered the motel with three coffees and a box of doughnuts.

"Hey," he greeted Buffy as he shut the door behind him. Buffy just smiled and sat in the bed uncomfortably, listening to the sound of the shower running. Dean watched her out of the corner of his eye as she shifted uncomfortably in the bed and turned back to face her, a doughnut in his handand a small smile on his face. "Sam washed your dress and stuff for you," he said, pointing to the neat pile of clothes on the chair next to her bed.

"Thanks" Buffy smiled and gingerly got out of bed, taking the clothes from the chair. She stood uncomfortably for a few minutes while she waited for Sam to come out of the bathroom.

Dean cleared his throat and held out a doughnut to her, "Doughnut?"

"No thank you," Buffy laughed nervously just as the bathroom door opened. Sam came out of the bathroom fully clothed, his hair a little damp, and he smiled at Buffy.

"Hey, you're up. Did you sleep well?"

"I feel like I've slept for months," Buffy laughed nervously and headed to the bathroom. When she shut the door behind her, she could hear the brothers muttering to each other but instead of listening, she got changed back into the clothes she wore the night before. She suddenly felt uncomfortable in the long black dress. It no longer felt like hers, like it belonged to the Buffy who was still inside her coffin. When she came back out of the bathroom, the two boys were shoving on their jackets.

"We're going out for a proper breakfast before leaving town. You wanna join us?" Sam asked.

"Thank you both, for... everything, but there's something... I have to do," she replied, handing Dean his folded shirt, and she smiled at him. "Thank you"

"Don't mention it." Dean smiled awkwardly.

"We'll be leaving in a couple of hours. Maybe we could see you before we leave?" Sam asked, breaking the pair's eye contact. Buffy looked up at Sam and smiled.

"Maybe," she said before opening the motel door and heading into town. When Buffy got into town a few minutes later it looked nothing like it did the night before: The broken windows were covered in new panes of glass, the streets were rid of the burnt cars and debris, and all the shops were open as usual. Buffy stopped when she reached the corner and stared at the shop on the other side: Purple brick walls and the brightest sign in the street: _The Magic Box _written in bold red letters surrounded by yellow and purple.

At one point in her life, Buffy had felt _The Magic Box_ was a second home. She had spent all her time there, training, hanging out with her friends. Now, when Buffy saw the shop, it felt distant and unusual. Buffy walked across the street and peered through the small shop window. Anya was chatting away to herself as she cleaned behind the counter, Xander sat at the table doodling and laughing slightly, Willow was sat on the black metal steps that led up to another level and Tara was sat beside Willow, tending to a few cuts and bruises on Willow's arms and face.

No sign of Giles. No sign of... Then Buffy spotted her walk past one of the bookshelves, a pile of books in her arms, taking them to the table. The Slayer's eyes started to well up; Her sister looked so beautiful, serene, nothing like the crying fifteen year old she had last seen. She looked... Happy.

That's when she knew what she had to do for her sister to stay that happy and safe... Buffy placed her hand on the window. "Goodbye, Dawn," she whispered to her sister, tears falling down her cheeks, before leaving the shop.

It was a little over an hour after Buffy left, and Dean sat on the edge of his bed cleaning all the weapons he had in the duffel bag next to him while Sam was stuffing his clothes into a green duffel bag. They both stopped what they were doing at a knock on the door of their motel room. Sam looked over at his older brother, clearly a little confused, before answering the door as Dean packed away the weapons quickly.

"Buffy?" Dean heard Sam call. Dean turned around to see Buffy standing in the middle of the room; she had changed out of her black funeral dress and into a dark green short-sleeved hooded top, light green combat trousers and white trainers. Her long brown hair was tied up into a loose ponytail and she was carrying a large black duffel bag over her shoulder. Dean smirked when he realized that the bag was almost the same size as her.

"It seems that I owe you two an explanation" Buffy said as she placed the duffel bag onto the floor. Sam shut the door and stood behind Buffy, sharing a look with Dean before looking at her expectantly. "I'm not a demon" She told them both but looked at Dean, like she owed him theexplanation the most. Dean looked at her with raised eyebrows, a little confused. "I'm a Slayer" Buffy answered his silent question. Dean continued to at her with the same expression. Buffy raised her eyes, "Slay-er? She, who, hangs out a lot in cemeteries?" She had used the same line on Riley two years ago.

Dean raised one eyebrow, "You're what now?"

"A Vampire Slayer," both Sam and Buffy said at the same time. Buffy and Dean looked over at Sam surprised; Sam pulled out a leather bound notebook from his jacket and flipped through a few pages and read.

"_Into every generation a Slayer is born, one woman in the world to hunt demons, vampires and the forces of darkness... She possesses great strength and skill in combat... A Slayer is not to be taken lightly, she works alone... A Slayer and a hunter cannot fight in the same battle... Slayer's can be dangerous. They are to work alone_," Sam recited from the book before shutting it and looking at Dean. "That's why dad said we should never come to Sunnydale... Because they already have a protector," he said smiling at Buffy. Buffy didn't smile back, and Dean was still trying to take everything in.

"Not any more" Buffy mumbled before looking at Sam. She moved across the room and slowly sat down on the edge of Sam's bed, fiddling with the silver cross she wore around her neck. She looked over at Sam.

"A few months ago... well it seemed like yesterday but I'm guessing it's been a while. I uh..." Buffy looked back at Dean and fixed her eyes on his, "My sister, she was this... key to open all portals between worlds and the only way for the portals to open was her blood... and the only way to close the portal was to stop the blood." She looked down at the floor and tears began to fall. "I didn't want her to die... B-Because she's my sister. My blood. I... Sacrificed myself so she didn't have to... to save Sunnydale from destruction. I gave up my life for Dawn... Then what felt like seconds later I woke up in a coffin." She looked back up at Dean. "I crawled out of my own grave. My friends must have brought me back... But they just left me there to crawl out myself... I-I thought if I saw them again then..." Buffy left the rest of the sentence hang in the air and hardened her face. The tears immediately stopped forming in her eyes, "They don't need me, they're better off thinking I'm still in my grave...And I think you two could use another pair of hands," Buffy finished.

"Are you sure you want to come with us?" Sam asked after a long pause. Buffy turned her head to look at him and nodded.

"I'm sure." She got off the bed and sighed with a little smile, "Besides, you two look like you could use my help... I hope you know I saved your asses with those demons last night" She joked.

Dean laughed to himself and picked up his green duffel bag. "Hey, we _totally_ had everything under control" he replied.

Sam smiled at Buffy, who laughed at Dean's unconvincing remark, and grabbed his own duffel and headed to the car. Buffy and Dean both leaned in to pick up the black duffel.

"I'll get that for you," Dean said politely and leaned in to lift the bag.

"It's OK," Buffy smiled picking up the duffel and followed Sam outside; he was standing by the open trunk of a long shiny black car,and Buffy read that it was a 1967 Chevy Impala. Dean threw the green duffel over his shoulder as he locked the motel door. He then threw the key to Sam, who took it to the reception desk, and headed over to the car. "Nice ride" Buffy smiled, throwing her duffel into the trunk of the car. Dean smiled and threw his bag into the trunk, closing it and getting into the drivers seat, Buffy took one last look at Sunnydale before getting into the back of the car. As soon as Sam got in and shut the passenger door the Impala sped out of the motel drive-way and headed straight out of Sunnydale.

* * *

So... that's Chapter 1 and I hoped you enjoyed it.


	2. Wendigo

Hey, everyone!

Thanks for all the reviews and comments for Chapter One, An Introduction. Slayer Style. Much appreciated!

Now, I know Wendigo isn't the greatest episode in the world but I've tried to make it as interesting as possible so please read both parts and let me know what you think.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Eric Kripke owns Supernatural and it's scripts and Joss Wheedon owns Buffy. This was made for fun.

I used the TwizTv script for Supernatural Season 1, Episode 2 "Wendigo" but I've jazzed it up.

* * *

Buffy didn't realise how much she hated cars until she was stuck in Dean's Impala for twelve hours. As soon as they left Sunnydale Dean didn't stop until it was dark, to which they stopped off at a motel in the middle of nowhere, before getting up early the next day and heading back into the car. Although, after a while, she started to get used to the purring of the car and she fell asleep on-and-off every few hours and she was asleep until a jolt from the passenger seat woke her up.

Sam sat upright and looked around and rubbed the coners of his eyes.

"You okay?" Dean asked glancing over at Sam for a second.

Sam cleared his throat, "Yeah, I'm fine" he replied tensely.

"Another nightmare?" Dean asked to which Sam just cleared his throat again and said nothing. "You wanna drive for a while?" Dean asked after a pause.

Sam laughed dryly and looked over at his brother, "In your whole life you never once asked me that"

"Just thought you might want to, never mind" Buffy could hear the annoyance rising in Dean's voice.

Buffy looked over at Sam who wore a light smile as he looked at his elder brother, "Look man, you're worried about me, I get it and thank you but I'm perfectly okay."

"mmhmm" was all Dean bothered to say.

Buffy sat upright and cleared her throat, Sam looked over at her and smiled and Dean looked at her through the rear-view mirror.

"Hey" Sam greeted.

Buffy yawned and smiled back before looking out of her window, "Where are we?"

"We are just outside of Grand Junction." Dean replied as he changed the gears.

Sam took a map off the dashboard in front of him and stared at it.

"You know what? Maybe we shouldn't have left Stanford so soon."

"Sam we dug around there for a week, we came up with nothing. If you wanna find the thing that killed Jessica…"

"We gotta find Dad first." Sam finished.

Buffy didn't know much about the boys, except that their both hunters and their father - another hunter - was missing and that they were looking for him. Dean was a little cloudy with the details; like he didn't want to spill his life story to some girl he'd known for a couple of days. All Buffy knew was that their Mother was killed by a demon when Sam was a baby, which was why they were now demon hunters along with their Father, and now it was back and killed Sam's girlfriend but she didn't know how or why. Sam also told her that they were on their way to a location that their Dad sent them when they stopped off at Sunnydale and saw all the destruction going on. That's when they found her.

"Dad disappearing, and this thing showing up again after twenty years, it's no coincidence. Dad will have answers; he'll know what to do." Dean said reassuringly after a moment of silence.

Sam shook his head as he studied the map in his hands, "It's weird man. These coordinates he left us, this Blackwater Ridge."

"What about it?" Buffy piped up and sat on the edge of her seat to see the map on Sam's lap.

Sam turned to see Buffy, "There's nothing there, it's just woods." He then turned his attention to Dean but looked straight ahead. "Why is he sending us to the middle of nowhere?"

Dean didn't answer him instead he drove around a corner and Buffy caught the sign as they drove past to find a parking spot: the sign was large, brown on the top and white on the bottom;_"Lost Creek Trail"_ was written on the brown part of the sign in white and _"Lost Creek National Forest"_ written in the white part of the sign in brown.

Dean stopped the Impala and all three got out and examined the building: a wooden house with a _"Ranger's Station"_ sign above the door.

There were too sections of the Ranger Station and no one was inside the room that Buffy and the boys entered.

Sam spotted a 3D map of Lost Creek and went to examine it, Buffy looked at all the little trinkets that were on the counters and Dean wandered around and glanced at all the pictures that were hung up on the walls.

"So Blackwater Ridge is pretty remote It's cut off by these canyons here, rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place." Sam said as he examined the map, running his finger through the bumpiest part of the map that had _"Black Water Ridge"_ written on it in tiny letters.

"Dude, check out the size of this freakin' bear!" Dean said in amazement at a picture of a bear lying on the ground..

Buffy just laughed at Dean and moved to another counter and read the titles of a few books and Sam went over to Dean to see what he found so amazing.

"And a dozen or more grizzlies in the area. It's no nature hike that's for sure." Sam finished as he examined the picture.

"You people aren't planning on going out near Blackwater Ridge by any chance?" A man asked as he came out of the back room.

He wore a dark green baseball cap on his head, he wore a pale blue shirt and a dark green bomber jacket with badges along the arms. He held a steaming mug in his hand.

"Oh no sir, we're environmental study majors from UC Boulder, just working on a paper." Sam smiled politely.

"Recycle, man." Dean smiled and fisted the air.

Buffy laughed to herself.

"Bull."

The three of them stopped smiling and looked at each other.

"You're friends with that Hailey girl right?" The man pointed the mug at them..

Buffy glanced at the boys then she looked back to the man "Yes," she smiled. "Yes we are, ranger-" she glanced at his name tag, "Wilkinson."

Ranger Wilkinson placed his cup down and he leaned on the counter, "Well I will tell you exactly what we told her: Her brother filled out a back country permit saying he wouldn't be back from Blackwater till the 24th. So it's not exactly missing persons now is it?

"You tell that girl to quit worrying, I'm sure her brother's just fine." Ranger Wilkinson finished with a little smile, picking his cup back up and heading back into the other room.

Buffy nodded and smiled, "We will." she said before heading to the door.

"Well, that Hailey girl's quit a pistol, huh?" Dean smiled.

Ranger Wilkinson stopped and turned to look at Dean, "That is putting it mildly." He replied dryly.

"Actually," Dean walked over towards Ranger Wilkinson and Buffy stared at Sam who just shrugged his shoulders, "you know what would help is if I could show her a copy of that back country permit you know so she could _see_ her brothers return date."

A few minutes later Buffy and Sam followed Dean out of the wooden house, Dean laughed as he folded the copy of the permit, and Buffy just rolled her eyes at him as she followed him and Sam to the Impala.

Sam stopped when he reached the front of the Impala, "What are you cruising for a hook-up or something?"

"What do you mean?" Dean asked when he reached the driver's door.

Buffy stopped at the back door behind Dean and she watched the interaction between the two brothers, realising that their issues were deeper than they appeared.

"The coordinates point to Blackwater Ridge so what are we waiting for, let's just go find dad. I mean why even talk to this girl?" Sam asked irritated as he headed to the passenger door.

"I dunno, maybe we should know what we're walking into before we actually walk into it." Dean answered curtly and rolled hhis head at his brother, pulling a face like Sam knew better than that.

"What?" Sam asked in a high-pitched tone.

Buffy realised that this was the time to get into the car and pretend she wasn't there, let them sort out their own issues, and she got into the back seat and shut the door quietly.

"Well, since when are you all shoot first ask questions later anyway?" She could hear Dean ask as Sam slowly opened the passenger door.

"Since now." Sam said bluntly.

"Oh, Really?" Dean asked.

Not bothering to reply Sam got into the car, Dean followed a second behind and once inside he started up the engine nd they drove in an awkward silence until they reached a burgundy house.

---

Dean fiddled around in the glove box before getting out of the car and Buffy and a hesitant Sam followed him up the path and to the front door. Dean knocked on the door then a moment later a woman answered; she was small but taller than Buffy, she had long wavey dark brown hair, dark eyes and full lips, she wore a black tank top, Buffy couldn't make out the small circular picture on the top, and she wore dark blue hipster jeans. As soon as she opened the door Buffy instantly thought of Faith.

The woman opened the front door but stood behihnd a clear screan and looked at the three of them suspiciously.

"You must be Hailey Collins." Dean began, "I'm Dean, and this is Sam and Buffy. We're rangers with the Park Service. Ranger Wilkinson sent us over; we wanted to ask you some questions about your brother, Tommy." Dean finished coolly like he'd done the speech a million times.

Hailey thought for a moment as she looked at Dean then Sam then Buffy then back to Dean, "Let me see some ID."

Dean held up a Park Service Ranger ID, which Buffy knew was fake, "Here ya go." he smiled.

Hailey examined the ID for a second then looked back at Dean, "Come on in." She said, opening the screen door.

"Thanks" Dean smiled.

Hailey looked past Dean and smiled, "That yours?" She asked.

They all looked behind them to see the Impala and then turned back and Dean smiled, "Yeah" he smiled.

Hailey smiled back, "Nice car" she said before heading back into the house.

Dean started to follow before looking back at Sam and mouthing, "Oh my God"

Buffy and Sam both rolled their eyes at him and laughed as they entered the house. Buffy and Sam stopped next to Dean when they reached the dining room where Hailey was serving up dinner for her and another boy.

"So if Tommy's not due back for a while, how do you know something's wrong?" Sam asked.

Hailey entered the dining room with a large blue bowl of spaghetti in her right hand and a smaller black pot of sauce in her left, "He checks in every day by cell. He e-mails photos, stupid little videos…" she set the bowl and pot on the table and looked up at Sam, "but we haven't heard anything in over three days now." She explained.

"Well maybe he can't get cell reception." Buffy stated.

"He's got a satellite phone too."

"Could it be he's just having fun and forgot to check in?" Dean joked.

"He wouldn't do that!" The boy at the table spoke up.

Hailey smiled slightly and looked over at the boy, "Our parents are gone; it's just Tommy, Ben and Me. We all keep pretty close tabs on each other."

"Can I see the pictures he sent you?" Sam asked, pointing at the laptop at the other end of the table.

Hailey moved over to the laptop, "Yeah" she sat down and opened up the pictures on the laptop and Dean, Sam and Buffy stood behind her and examined the pictures. "That's Tommy." Hailey said, pointing at a picture of a man before playing the video.

_"Hey Hailey, day six, we're still out near Blackwater Ridge, we're fine, keeping safe, so don't worry, talk to you tomorrow."_

Buffy watched Sam frown slightly as he watched the video.

Hailey closed the laptop and got out of the seat.

"Well, we'll find your brother; we're heading out to Blackwater ridge first thing." Dean said.

Hailey headed over to her brother Ben at the dining room table, "Then maybe I'll see you there," Buffy, Dean and Sam frowned, "Look. I can't sit around here anymore, so I hired a guide. I'm heading out in the morning and I'm gonna find Tommy myself." She told them.

Buffy saw Dean smiled slightly, "I think I know how ya feel"

Sam pointed at the laptop, "Hey, you mind forwarding these to me?"

As soon as they left Hailey's house they drove around until they found a motel then, once they were checked in, they headed to the nearest local bar.

It took Dean all his strength not to go to the bar and order a beer but Sam pushed him over to a small round table in the middle of the room and sat Dean between him and Buffy and as soon as they sat down Sam pulled out some papers from a brown leather briefcase and set them on the table.

"So, Blackwater Ridge doesn't get a lot of traffic, local campers mostly. But still, this past April two hikers went missing out there, they were never found."

"Any before that?" Buffy asked as she looked at the paper Dean held in his hand.

Sam held up another article and pushed the paper across the table to her, "Yeah In 1982, eight different people all vanished in the same year. Authorities said it was a grizzly attack. And again in 1959 and again before that in 1936. Every 23 years, just like clockwork."

Buffy and Dean examined the papers for a second until Sam put his laptop onto the table and turned the laptop round for them to see, "Okay watch this. Here's a clincher. I downloaded that guy, Tommy's, video to the laptop. Check this out." Sam played the video frame by frame and she saw the same thing that made Sam frown earlier that day. A shadow of something moving extremely fast outside Tommy's tent.

"Do it again." Said Dean as he watched carefully.

Sam played the video again and Buffy watched Dean frown as he saw the shadow outside the tent. "That's three frames. That's a fraction of a second. Whatever that thing is, it can move." Sam explained.

Dean smiled and hit Sam on the upper arm; "Told ya something weird was goin on." he laughed and smiled at Buffy.

"Yeah. I got one more thing. In '59 one camper survived this supposed grizzly attack. Just a kid. Barely crawled out of the woods alive." Sam said.

"Is there a name?" Dean asked.

Sam nodded.

"You got an address?" Dean asked.

Sam nodded again.

"Let go then" Dean said standing up and scooting past Buffy to get out.

Sam and Buffy both put the papers and the laptop back into the briefcase then followed Dean out to the Impala and they headed to the address ten minutes away.

---

They stopped outside a run down apartment building; it was quiet when they entered, the paint started to crack, the wallpaper started to peel in the corners and the corridors smelled of damp, stale booze and cigarettes. Buffy and Dean followed Sam through the building and stopped when they reached the end of the corridor.

Dean knocked on the door, paint falling off the door as he did so.

An old man answered the door gingerly a few seconds later. Mr. Shaw looked disheveled: his white hair was a mess, white stubble grew on his chin, a lit cigarette poked out of his mouth; he wore a blue house coat over a manky grey t-shirt and shorts.

"Mr. Shaw, I'm Dean and this is Sam and Buffy. We're rangers with the Park Service. Ranger Wilkinson sent us over, we'd like to ask you a few questions in connection to a grizzly attack a few days ago" Buffy was surprised by how professional Dean could sound at times.

The old man, Mr. Shaw, walked back into the house, leaving the front door open and they all followed him inside.

"Look ranger, I don't know why you're askin' me about this. It's public record; I was a kid. My parents got mauled by a…"

"Grizzly? That's what attacked them?" Buffy asked as she came into the small apartment and Dean shut the door behind them.

Mr. Shaw paused in silence, took a drag from his cigarette, sat down in his chair and slowly nodded his head.

They waited for Mr. Shaw to speak but as they stood there in silence Dean began to get impatient.

"The other people that went missing that year…those bear attacks too? What about all the people that went missing this year? Same thing? If we knew what we were dealing with, we might be able to stop it." Dean told Mr. Shaw.

Mr. Shaw laughed, "I seriously doubt that. Anyways, I don't see what difference it would make. You wouldn't believe me, nobody ever did..."

Sam stood closer to Mr. Shaw, "Mr. Shaw, what did you see?"

Mr. Shaw stared up at Sam, "Nothing. It moved too fast to see, it hid too well. I heard it though, a roar, like…no man or animal I ever heard."

"It came at night?" Buffy asked quietly and Mr. Shaw nodded.

"Got inside your tent?" Sam asked.

Mr. Shaw looked up at Sam wide-eyed, "It got inside our cabin. I was sleepin' in front of the fireplace when it came in. It didn't smash a window or break the door, it unlocked it. Do you know of a bear that could do something like that? I didn't even wake up till I heard my parents screamin'."

Buffy looked over at Dean, who didn't look shocked at all, then turned back to Mr. Shaw.

"It killed them" Buffy stated more than asked.

"Dragged them off into the night." Mr. Shaw added, he looked back at the floor, "Why it left me alive…been askin myself that ever since. Did leave me this though." he looked back at Buffy and pulled the collar of his grey t-shirt down to reveal his chest with three huge white scars that look like they were made by three giant claws, something bigger than a bear, and Buffy gasped and winced.

"There's something evil in those woods. It was some sort of a demon." Mr. Shaw told Buffy.

Buffy couldn't stop staring at the three giant scars.

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Shaw" Dean started as he took hold of Buffy's elbow, "We'll let ourselves out" Dean said and pulled Buffy outside and Sam followed behind.

"Spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors. If they want inside they just go through the walls." Dean said as they walked around the corner into the corridor of the building, still holding onto Buffy's elbow.

"So it's probably something else, something corporeal." Sam added.

Dean looked up at Sam as he walked, he let go of Buffy's elbow, and raised an eyebrow, "Corporeal?" he turned his head forward as he reached the front door, "Excuse me professor."

"Shut up."

"So what do you think?" Buffy asked as she walked between the two boys, finally able to say something without thinking that she was going to be sick.

Dean looked down at Buffy, "The claws, the speed that it moves, could be a skin walker, maybe a black dog. Whatever we're talking about, we're talking about a creature and its _corporeal_." he threw Sam a quick look, "Which means we can kill it."

When they got outside Dean headed straight to the Impala and opened the trunk, propping the bottom up with a shotgun to reveal a hidden section full of weapons, and he shoved some pistols, and other weapons the thought could be useful, inside one of the green duffel bags. Buffy eyed the trunk in shock but, realising that it was a bad time to say anything, she stood beside Dean and folded her arms.

"We cannot let that Hailey girl go out there." Sam said hastily as he came up behind Dean.

Dean lifted his head out of the trunk and looked at Sam, "Oh yeah? What are we gonna tell her? That she can't go into the woods because of a big scary monster?" He asked sarcastically as he put more weapons into the trunk.

Sam nodded, "Yeah"

Buffy looked at both boys, who looked like they were ready to tear each other apart, before piping up, "Her brother's missing Sam."

Dean gave Sam an annoyed smile, "Yeah, she's not just gonna sit this out. Now we go with her, we protect her, and we keep our eyes peeled for our fuzzy predator-friend." he said as he took the duffel out of the trunk.

Sam ignored them both and just stared at Dean, "Finding dad's not enough?" he slammed bottom of the trunk down then the actual trunk shut, just missing Dean's fingers, "Now we gotta baby-sit too?"

Dean didn't say anything; he just stared up at Sam and shook his head.

"What?"

Dean shrugged; "Nothin'." he threw the duffel bag at Sam forcefully before getting into the car and starting up the engine. Buffy placed a hand on Sam's arm but he just got inside the car and threw the duffel onto the back seat, Buffy sighed and got into the back of the car with the duffel bag beside her and Dean pulled out of the parking lot and drove back to the motel in silence.

---

Buffy was woken by the faint sound of the radio and when she opened her eyes she noticed that there was barely any light coming from the window so she knew it was very early in the morning. Looking around the room she spotted Sam at the table looking through a thick brown leather notebook and Dean was sat on the other bed putting on his worn black biker boots. She could tell straight away that they were both still pissed off with each other. When he noticed that her eyes were open Dean smiled.

"Mornin'"

Buffy yawned, "Morning" she sat up in bed, "What time is it?" she asked as she wiped her eyes.

"Just after six" Sam replied as he flipped through a few pages in the notebook.

Buffy stretched and got out of bed, realising she slept in the clothes she wore the night before, and pulled out a few clothes from her black duffel and headed to the bathroom. She showered and changed into a pair of her her favourite black hipster jeans, a long-sleeved teal green sweater, her favourite black chunky boots that she'd worn plenty of times on patrol and she wore her hair down and straightened.

When she was ready they all headed to a diner for breakfast then drove in silence to the mountains, when they got as far as they could by car they spotted three figures beside a red van: Hailey, Ben and another man; he looked like he'd hunted before, he wore a red shirt over a black t-shirt, black combat trousers, and hiking boots, a large bag hung on his left shoulder.

"You guys got room for three more?" Dean asked as he got out of the Impala.

Hailey turned around in time to See Dean, Buffy and Sam get out of the car and Sam take a duffel bag out of the back seat of the Impala.

"Wait, you want to come with us?" Hailey asked a little shocked.

"Who are these guys?" The man in camouflage asked Hailey.

"Apparently, Roy, this is all the Park Service could muster up for search and rescue." Hailey replied dryly as she watched the three walk over to them.

The man, Roy, looked from Dean to Sam to Buffy, "You're rangers?" He asked Buffy like he couldn't believe she could be a ranger.

He was right.

"That's right." Buffy replied coldly and put her hands on her hips.

"And you're hiking out in biker boots and jeans?" Hailey asked Dean sarcastically.

Dean and Buffy looked down at his choice in clothing: a dark blue shirt over a green t-shirt, black jacket, faded blue jeans and his trust boots; and Sam looked down at himself at the same time: red plaid shirt over a black t-shirt, brown hooded zipper jacket, dark blue jeans and a pair of black Doc Martins.

Dean looked back up at Hailey and examined her choice in clothing: black t-shirt, blue zipper jacket, beige shorts and black hiking boots.

"Well sweetheart, I don't do shorts" Dean smiled before walking past her and heading up the small road.

Roy caught up with Dean, "What, you think this is funny? Its dangerous back country out there, her brother might be hurt."

Buffy caught up with Roy, "Believe me; we know how dangerous this could get. We just wanna help her find her brother, that's all."

Roy didn't say anything; he just looked down at Buffy for a moment before taking the lead with Dean at the front and headed deeper into the woods.

Buffy let the pair lead the way, Hailey and Ben walking behind them and Buffy and Sam walked at the back. Buffy could hear faint muttering from Dean as they walked deeper in the woods then she looked up at Sam: he walked with one hand holding the duffel bag and the other in his beige jacket pocket; he's eyebrows were furrowed, he sucked his cheeks in and pursed his lips.

"You OK?" Buffy asked, nudging Sam's free arm and smiled when he looked down at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine" He smiled stiffly before going back into his earlier face.

Buffy let out a quick laugh, "What?" Sam asked.

Buffy looked back up at Sam, "I get why your angry Sam," Buffy kicked away a large stick with her foot, "You just want to find your dad, or this thing that's killing these people, and _you know _that you can do it better without people to look after.

"I know how you feel, I'm a little annoyed myself that all these people are here. Before...back in Sunnydale, I always had people to look after. I know how stressful it can be... I'm just as annoyed with Dean as you are but... What would you do if Dean was missing in these woods?"

Sam looked down at Buffy and smiled slightly this time a little more relaxed, "Just when I think I've figured you out" He laughed.

Buffy and Sam laughed for a moment as they walked until Buffy bumped into Hailey.

Everyone had stopped and Buffy looked over Hailey's shoulder to see Roy holding onto Dean's jacket.

"What'cha doin' Roy?" Dean asked, smiling slightly.

Roy stared at Dean and he poked the long, thick stick he had into the floor where Dean stood moments ago, something snapped up from the ground and sliced the stick in half.

"You should watch where you're stepping…Ranger" Roy said coyly before letting him go and he carried on walking.

Dean laughed and looked at everyone behind him; he smiled over at Buffy and Sam who both were glaring at him like a child who did something they were told not to do.

"It's a bear trap." Dean stated to Buffy and Sam with a coy smile.

Sam let out a sigh and smiled at Buffy as they all carried on walking and Hailey rushed to Dean's side and looked at him angrily.

"You didn't pack any provisions. You guys are carrying a _duffel_ bag." She took hold of Dean's arm and made him stop, "You're not Rangers so who the hell are you?"

Dean stopped and turned around and exchanged looks with Sam before Sam carried on walking with Ben, and Buffy knelt on the floor to tighten her boots a few metres away from Dean and Hailey.

"Sam and I are brothers, and we're looking for our father. He might be here, we don't know. I just figured that you and me, we're in the same boat." Buffy heard Dean explain.

"Who's she?" She heard Hailey ask coldly to which Buffy stiffened.

"Buffy's... here to help"

"Why didn't you just tell me all this from the start?" Hailey asked quietly.

"I'm telling you now!" Dean said, "Besides it's probably the most honest I've ever been with a woman. Ever. So we okay?"

Buffy stood up and turned around to see Hailey smile, "Yeah, okay."

Dean squinted his face at Hailey, "And what do you mean I didn't pack provisions?" He asked and pulled a giant bag of Peanut M&M's out of his jacket pocket, smirking, then caught up with Buffy.

"Come on, slow poke" Dean said to Buffy through a mouthful of M&M's.

Buffy laughed and pushed him lightly as they caught up with the rest of them.

After hiking for an hour or so everyone started to get a little tired and agitated; Buffy thought she was lost, everything looked the same. Big and creepy. Until everyone stopped suddenly; Buffy looked over at Roy; he was holding a large G.P.S and it was beeping.

"This is it…Blackwater Ridge" Roy said and he looked around the woods.

Sam moved from Ben's side and stood next to Roy, "What coordinates do we have?"

Roy looked back at the G.P.S, "35-111" He answered.

Buffy watched Dean and Sam look at each other with ironic smiles and she looked around the woods before frowning.

There was something missing.

Buffy thought for a minute, "You hear that?" She asked Dean quietly.

Dean frowned, listened for a few seconds and nodded, "Yeah, not even crickets."

Both knowing that it was a very bad sign.

"I'm gonna take a look around." Roy told everyone as he carried on walking.

Sam tried to catch up with him, "You shouldn't go off by yourself."

Roy stopped and smiled at Sam, "That's sweet…don't worry about me." he said before heading off anyway.

"All right everybody stays together. Let's go." Dean said and he and the rest of them followed Roy.

"Hailey, over here." Roy shouted ten minutes later.

They all rushed in the direction of Roy's voice and then when they found him he was stood at a deserted campsite, the tents were ripped to shreds and a gallon of scarlet blood was all over the place.

"Oh my God" Buffy and Hailey both said together.

"Looks like a grizzly." Roy muttered to himself to which Dean, Sam and Buffy all exchanged a look before going off and examining the bloody scene.

Hailey ran around the campsite shouting for her brother.

Buffy walked up next to Dean who was examining one of the bloody tents.

"I dunno about you, but I'm pretty sure that it's not a grizzly" Dean said when Buffy reached his side.

Buffy saw the remains of sleeping bags, food, torches and other stuff all covered in blood. Buffy grimaced at the putrid smell.

"What do you think it was?"

Dean looked at Buffy and shrugged, "I'm not sure, but whatever it is its fast... Sam!"

Buffy looked over to Sam and Hailey, Sam left her side and started walking up to Dean. Buffy left Dean's side and headed over to Hailey, she knelt on the muddy ground and picked up a broken cell phone, covered in sticky scarlet blood and she started to cry. Buffy looked over her shoulder to watch Sam and Dean crouched on the floor. When she looked back Hailey was still crying so she knelt beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"He could still be alive" Buffy said reassuringly.

Hailey looked up at Buffy, tears streaming down her face, and she and Buffy smiled slightly at each other before standing back up and rubbing the dirt from their trousers.

"Help!!! Help!!!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and they ran toward the shrieking voice, they ran at least a mile into the woods but everything was quiet again when they stopped.

"It seemed like it was coming from around here didn't it?" Hailey asked, looking around the forest.

"Everybody back to camp." Sam said hastily before running back to the campsite.

Following Sam, they all ran back to the torn up campsite to find that it was empty. Buffy and Dean stopped next to Sam and the others stopped when they reached the middle of the campsite and realised everything was gone.

"Our packs!" Hailey wailed when she looked around for her back pack.

Roy looked around the campsite and kicked at the debris, "So much for my G.P.S and my satellite phone" He muttered.

Hailey came up to Buffy and Sam, "What the hell is going on?"

"It's smart. It wants to cut us off so we can't call for help." Sam replied casually.

Roy got up from the floor and looked at Sam with a blank expression, "You mean some one, some nut job out there just stole all our gear."

Sam looked over at Dean, "I need to speak with you... in private," then looked at Buffy, "make sure they don't leave the campsite"

Buffy nodded and watched the boys head into the woods and out of view.

Buffy squeezed Hailey's shoulder, "Don't worry, we'll find your brother and this... thing. I promise"

Hailey smiled slightly then when she heard Ben call her she headed over and left Buffy standing on her own. She looked around the campsite, placed her hands on her hips and blew hair out of her face.

"You folks ain't Rangers are you?" Roy asked when he stood beside Buffy.

Buffy looked up at the Ranger, she thought for a moment, trying to think of a decent lie.

"No, we're not Rangers... but we do know a lot about this stuff" Buffy explained.

Roy looked down his nose at Buffy and laughed at her, "Yeah, sure you do, Girlie" he said before leaving her side.

Buffy began to say something but pursed her lips and fisted her hands, refraining herself from pummelling the man.

The rustling caught her attention and Buffy saw Sam come back out of the woods with Dean following behind.

"All right listen up, time to go. Things have gotten more…complicated." Sam said to everyone as he and Dean walked over to Buffy.

"What?" Hailey asked nervously, holding onto her brother's hand.

Roy placed a hand on Hailey's shoulder, "Kid don't worry, whatever's out there, I think I can handle it."

Sam left Buffy's side and went to Roy, "It's not me I'm worried about, if you shoot this thing you're just gonna make it mad. We have to leave now."

Roy smiled slightly at Sam, "One you're talking nonsense, and two you're in no position to give anybody orders."

"Relax" Dean said to the pair.

Sam grimaced at Roy, "We never should have let you come out here in the first place, alright? I'm trying to protect you."

"You protect me? I was hunting these woods when your mommy was still kissing you goodnight." Roy came closer to Sam and grimaced.

"Yeah?" Sam came even closer to Roy so he was now towering over the man, "It's a damn near perfect hunter. It's smarter than you, and it's gonna hunt you down and eat you alive unless we get your stupid sorry ass out of here." Sam smirked seriously.

"You know you're crazy right?" Roy laughed.

"Yeah? You ever hunt a wen-" Roy shoved Sam mid-sentence.

"Roy!" Hailey yelled and ran over to Buffy.

"Hey!" Buffy yelled at the same time.

Dean stood between his baby brother and Roy, "Chill out."

"Stop" Hailey said, standing beside Buffy; "stop it, everybody just stop. Look, Tommy might still be alive, and I'm not leaving here without him."

Dean looked around then up at the sky, "It's getting late." he looked back Hailey, "This thing is a good hunter in the day, but an unbelievable hunter at night. We'll never beat it, not in the dark. We need to settle in and protect ourselves."

"How?" Hailey asked.

---

By the time they were all able to muster up a campsite with what little they had it was dark but Roy was able to make a small campfire and Dean was able to draw protective symbols into the dirt. Buffy sat the furthest away from everybody, keeping a lookout for the demon, and she looked around the campsite: Roy, Hailey and Ben sat around the campfire that Roy had made and Dean and Sam were at the other end of the campsite, far from everyone else, and were in a deep conversation. Buffy looked back out into the darkness and tried to sort out all the thoughts that swam around in her head, it had been a while since she was able to think things through and now she was alone she was able to think clearer: the main one being how she ended back on Earth, she thought about where she was during the time she was dead. It was vary vague to her, every day became a little harder to remember but she knew exactly where she was and she knew she could never tell anyone, not even Sam or Dean, she knew they would never understand.

"Hey"

Hailey broke Buffy's train of thought as she sat down beside her.

Buffy smiled, "Hey"

They both sat in an awkward silence for a moment before Hailey turned to Buffy, "So, you, Dean and Sam... You three do this stuff all the time?"

Buffy re-positioned herself on the ground to get comfortable and she looked at Hailey, "Well, I'm not sure about Sam and Dean but, yeah I've been doing this for a while"

"So..." Hailey looked over at the two boys, "how long have you known each other?"

"A few days, actually..."Buffy laughed.

Buffy looked over at Sam and Dean and examined them over and realised how different they actually are, not just personality but appearance too: Dean, the older brother at twenty six, was about a foot taller than Buffy - around 6"3' - and Buffy imagined that he weighed roughly 175lbs; he has short golden brown hair, styled in, what Buffy would imagine, a military crew cut but grown out a tiny bit to make it thick, fluffy and spiky at the top; smooth olive skin; penetrating green eyes surrounded with thick, long dark eyelashes; he had the fullest, pouted, Cupid's bow lips any woman could dream of kissing. He always wore faded blue jeans or jeans with holes in the knees, as well as his black worn biker boots, and everything was usually accompanied by his faded leather jacket.

Sam, on the other hand, looked completely different: Sam is the same age as Buffy at twenty two; he's a few inches taller than Dean, Buffy thought he was around 6"6', and he's a little thinner than his older brother - weighing around 165lbs - but he was more toned than Dean; Buffy imagined that he was more Hispanic with his dark, tanned skin, long dark chocolate hair - which falls slightly over his ears and halfway down his neck and curling slightly around the edges - he has hazel eyes that were also surrounded by long thick dark eyelashes; his face is a little longer and more chiseled than Dean's and his lips were a little thinner but still very kissable. Sam always wore jeans as well as his Doc Martins, and usually wore his beige jacket.

Buffy saw Sam wear a sad expression, his lips were pursed like he was stopping himself from crying, while Dean held the brown leather notebook up at Sam, wearing a _'Concerned Brother'_ look on his face. Buffy hoped that they were finally sorting out their issues with each other.

She looked back at Hailey, "A few weeks back, something happened to me and... Dean saved my life. They both did. I owe them everything... Anyway, when I found out that their dad was missing, I wanted to help."

Hailey smiled, "I bet that's not all you wanted to do!" she joked, wiggling her eyebrows.

Buffy and Hailey laughed as they glanced over at the two boys, still in an intense conversation.

"Help me! Please! Help!"

Everyone got up to their feet and looked around at the dark forest. Buffy and Hailey moved back into the center of the campsite; Hailey stood beside her brother, and Sam and Dean ran to Buffy's side.

"He's trying to draw us out. Just stay cool, stay put" Dean told everyone.

"Inside the magic circle?" Roy joked..

"Help! Help me!" The Wendigo yelled again but a lot louder.

"Ok that's no grizzly." Roy said anxiously.

Hailey put an arm around her brother, "It's ok, you'll be all right I promise."

Hailey spotted a long figure run through the trees very fast and she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"It's here." Buffy said.

Roy shot his gun several times, the last bullet shot the Wendigo and it screeched and headed further into the woods.

"I hit it!" Roy laughed and chased after the Wendigo.

Dean started after Roy, "Roy, no! Roy!" he stopped and pointed at Buffy, Hailey and Ben., "Don't move." he told them and he and Sam ran after Roy.

Hailey stood behind Buffy, "Are they gonna be OK?"

They all heard Dean scream Roy's name.

"I..." Buffy was unable to answer her question.

"It's over here! It's in the tree!" They heard Roy yell.

Then a scream.

"Roy!" They heard Dean scream.

Buffy looked over at Hailey and Ben, holding the tears back, they looked at her for reassurance and she knew that if they saw her cry they would both break down.

"It's... It's gonna be OK" Buffy struggled to keep back the tears.

Buffy, Hailey and Ben turned around when they heard rustling from the woods and saw Dean and Sam enter the campsite. Dean shrugged at Buffy.

"He's gone"

Hailey looked from Dean to Buffy to Sam, who merged out from the darkness panting. "What do you mean Roy's gone?" Hailey asked.

Sam stopped beside Dean and lent onto his knees and took in a few breaths, "I dunno," he stood up straight, "He's gone" he panted.

---

Buffy, Sam and Dean stayed up for the rest of the night. When they were finally able to calm Hailey down she and Ben fell asleep and Buffy, Dean and Sam tried to think of a plan.

The following morning Roy was still missing and they still didn't have a plan.

Buffy, Hailey and Ben were sat around the campfire; Dean was walking around the campsite, rummaging around the debris; and Sam was sat at the end of the campsite on his own, fiddling with the rosary beads that dangled out of the leather notebook.

"I don't…" Hailey began, putting her blue jacket on, "I mean these types of things they aren't supposed to be real."

Buffy shrugged her shoulders and sighed, "I wish I could tell you different." She joked sympathetically.

Hailey looked at Buffy, "How do we know it's not out there watching us?" She asked and looked around the campsite, making sure it wasn't there.

"We don't." Dean said as he picked up a bottle of lighter fluid, an empty beer bottle and some toilet paper, and he looked up at Hailey, "But we're safe for now."

"How do you guys know about this stuff?"

Dean looked over his shoulder at his little brother then back to Hailey, "Kind of runs in the family."

Hailey turned to Buffy and waited for her answer.

"It's... a long story" Buffy replied.

"Hey"

Buffy looked up to see Sam walk up and stop beside Dean, who stood up straight. "So we've got half a chance in the daylight. And I, for one, want to kill this evil son-of-a-bitch" Sam stated.

Dean smirked "Well hell, you know I'm in."

Buffy and Hailey both got from the ground and patted the dirt from their trousers.

"So, what... exactly is out there?" Hailey asked.

"Wendigo is a –Indian word. It means evil that devours." Sam said without thinking.

"They're hundreds of years old. Each one was once a man. Sometimes an Indian, other times a frontiersman or a miner or a hunter." Dean added as he poured the lighter fluid into the beer bottle.

"How does a man turn into one of those things?" Buffy asked.

Dean smiled slightly at her question, a little surprised that she'd never heard of one, "Well it's always the same. During some harsh winter a guy finds himself starving, cut off from supplies or help. Becomes a cannibal to survive, eating other members of his tribe or camp." Dean explained.

"Like the Donnor Party." Ben explained from behind Buffy.

Sam nodded once, "Cultures all over the world believe that eating human flesh gives a person certain abilities. Speed, strength, immortality."

"If you eat enough of it, over years, you become this less than human thing. You're always hungry." Dean finished.

Hailey thought for a moment then creased her eyebrows, "So if that's true, how can Tommy still be alive?"

Dean pursed his lips, "You're not gonna like it."

"Tell me."

Dean started pacing around the campsite, "More than anything, a Wendigo knows how to last long winters without food. It hibernates for years at a time, but when it's awake it keeps its victims alive.

"It uh, stores them, so it can feed whenever it wants. If your brother's alive it's keeping him somewhere dark, hidden and safe. We gotta track it back there."

"How do we stop it?" Buffy asked.

Dean smiled then sighed, "Well guns are useless so are knives, basically" he stopped walking and held up the beer bottle, it was full with lighter fluid and had toilet paper stuffed in the bottle neck with part of it poking out, "we gotta torch the sucker."

Buffy placed her hands on her hips, "Well then, let's not waste valuable light. Let's find the thing"

Dean smiled, "Lets go"

Sam and Dean led the way through the woods; they were hiking through the woods in silence for around an hour when Buffy detected the faint smell of copper in the air, she looked around and she saw the giant, bloody claw marks embedded into the trees around them.

"Dean." When Sam stopped everyone else stopped.

"What is it?" Dean asked.

"What's going on?" Hailey whispered to Buffy.

Buffy turned to Hailey, "Wait here" she said then came up between Sam and Dean, and they were both looking around at the trees.

The branches were broken and every branch had blood and claw marks on them.

Sam looked behind Buffy to Hailey before whispering, "You know…I was thinking... those claw prints, so clear and distinct, they were almost too easy to follow."

As soon as Sam said it Buffy felt a chill run through her spine, she could feel it's presence around them, and she turned her head and held a finger up to Sam.

The faint growl grew louder and louder.

Buffy and the boys backed up slowly; Buffy kept her eyes peeled around her and staying sharp, her senses flaring; the Wendigo almost slipped out of her eyesight it was so quick but it was gone again in an instant. Even thought she couldn't see it she could feel the Wendigo stalking them.

The thud caught Buffy's attention and she turned around in time to see a body fall out from the tree above Hailey; Hailey rolled away from the body before it fell on her and she screamed when she saw Roy's cold, dead eyes.

Sam ran to Hailey's side and Dean quickly examined the body.

"His neck's broke." Dean said, hearing the Wendigo growling again he stood up, "Okay run, run, run, run, go, go!" he yelled as he ran through the woods.

Buffy was the last to start running, she ran about half a mile, in the opposite direction of the campsite, but she stopped suddenly when the hairs on her neck began to stand up. She snapped back around to see the the Wendigo snarling in her face. The Wendigo was the worst thing Buffy had ever seen, she couldn't believe that it was a man once: It's skin was grey, it had an extra layer of skin on his forehead and nose, like some kind of mask, the extra skin formed deep lines in its forehead, making it look menacing; black pupils, orange iris's surrounded by crimson eyelids; the Wendigo's mouth looked almost too big for it's face, it had no lips and it's teeth and gum's protruded out of it's mouth. The Wendigo was taller than Buffy had thought, it was at least seven foot tall, its fingers and thumbs were almost twice the size of an average man's. All it wore was baggy red shorts.

The Wendigo was quicker than Buffy imagined too, she didn't realise she was hit until she flew in the air and landed on the ground.

She instantly flipped onto her feet, ducked the Wendigo's next swing, and kicked it in the shin; the Wendigo screeched and drove his fist down but Buffy caught it in her right hand before it collided with her collarbone and she whacked the middle of the fore-arm with her left elbow, trying to snap it. The Wendigo screeched again and threw Buffy off it's arm and clawed her back as she turned around to kick it. Buffy felt the white-hot pain all through her back and she sucked the air through her teeth, the pain blurred her vision long enough for the Wendigo to punch her in her side which threw her through the air. She screamed when she landed on her back but instantly got to her feet and ran to find the others, she realised she couldn't take this thing alone; It was strong and fast and she knew she couldn't fight the Wendigo without a weapon.

---

Buffy ran about half a mile then stopped and listened, she heard Hailey scream and she couldn't hear or feel the Wendigo around. She ran in the direction of Hailey's voice but when she finally saw two figures it was Sam and Ben.

"Dean?" Sam looked up when Buffy emerged from the bushes.

Sam held a piece of a broken bottle, the bottle Dean made, and Ben was stood behind him.

"Buffy?"

Buffy limped and winced over to Sam, "I uh, had a run in with the Wendigo"

Sam took Buffy's elbow just as her legs gave way and he helped her onto the floor.

"You OK?" Sam asked when Buffy slowly got back onto her feet.

Buffy nodded, "Hurts like hell but I'll live" Buffy joked.

"So," Ben started as he looked around the forest, keeping his eyes peeled for signs of the Wendigo. "If it keeps its victims alive, why would it kill Roy?" He asked.

Sam sighed and shrugged, "Honestly, I think because Roy shot at it, pissed it off." he explained looking up at the trees.

Buffy lent on the nearest tree, closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, slowly regaining her strength back and trying to ignore the pain in her back and ribs.

"Hey"

Buffy opened her eyes: Ben was knelt on the floor and was holding something up.

"They went this way" He said standing up.

Sam helped Buffy up to Ben and Ben handed the thing he had in his hand to Sam.

A small blue sweet.

Buffy looked at the floor, she saw scattered multi-colored dots on the ground; Dean's M&M's.

Sam smiled as he looked at the blue M&M, "It's better than bread crumbs." he laughed and threw the M&M back onto the floor.

Buffy looked back at the ground at the multi-colored chocolates and slowly followed the trail with Sam and Ben following behind; eventually, after thirty minutes or so, when they thought the M&M's had stopped Sam spotted a couple on the edge of a ditch amongst the trees and headed down the slope, keeping hold of Ben so he didn't fall, and they found an tin hut, the entrance was supposed to be boarded up but three of the panels were missing, the hut lead into a tunnel which had a sign saying: _"Warning! Danger! Do not enter. Extremely toxic material."_

"Looks like an old mine shaft or something" Sam muttered as he and Ben slipped through the space and headed into the tunnel, Buffy followed them into the tunnel, underneath a sign that said: _"Keep Out No Admittance." _

They weren't even in the tunnel for five minutes when they heard a faint growl, Sam pushed Ben and Buffy into the wall, Buffy refrained herself from whacking Sam as she hit her back on the wall, as the Wendigo's growl grew louder and louder. Seeing the Wendigo as it walked past them off into a different tunnel, Sam covered Ben's mouth just before he screamed.

Once the Wendigo was out of sight they continued walking, Sam in the lead, Ben in the middle and Buffy at the back. The floor boards started creaking the further they headed into the tunnel and before they could even register it all three of them fell five feet into the ground, into another chamber. Buffy let out a little cry as she landed on something hard and when she opened her eyes, she and Ben lay on a pile of skeletons.

Ben screamed and Sam helped him off the floor.

Buffy used one of the skeleton legs to push herself of the floor and onto her feet, she grimaced at the yellow bone in her hand and chucked it across the room and caught a figure in the corner of her eye and she moved a little closer so she could see the hanging figures properly.

Her eyes widened.

---

"Dean?"

Dean and Hailey's hands were tied above their head's and there feet were inches off the ground, both of them hung limply.

Sam quickly caught up with Buffy and saw his brother hanging from the ceiling, beat and bloody, his feet meters off the ground, and Hailey hanging beside him.

"Dean!" Sam ran to his brother.

"Hailey!" Ben ran to his sister, "Hailey wake up!"

Buffy slowly walked over and stood beside Sam; Sam placed his hands on Dean's face and shook him.

"Dean!"

His eyes began to flutter open.

"Hey, you okay?" Sam smiled when Dean opened his eyes.

Dean winced when he felt the pain in his head, "Yeah."

Sam took a knife from inside his jacket, "Buffy, hold him while I cut him down"

Buffy stood close to Dean and held her arms out, ready to catch him, and Dean fell into her arms when Sam cut him down; Buffy wrapped Dean's arms around her shoulders and she gingerly led him over to the wall and sat him down on the ground he cursed under his breath and held onto his stomach. Sam cut Hailey down and he and Ben helped her onto the floor, Ben sat at her side and Sam knelt beside Buffy and examined his brother.

"You sure you're all right?" Sam asked placing a hand on his shoulder.

Dean grimaced in pain, "Yeah." he sucked the air through his teeth, "Yep, where is he?" he asked and over at Buffy.

Buffy got to her feet and tried to stand straight but she winced at the searing pain in her back and decided against it, instead she took deep breath and looked around the pit she found them in.

"He's gone... for now." Buffy said looking out into one of the three tunnels around her, making sure the Wendigo wasn't there.

Hailey slowly got up from the floor and limped accross the room, she stopped infront of another hanging figure and she placed a hand on his face.

"Tommy?"

Hailey screamed when her elder brother lifted his head limply and fluttered his eyes open.

"Cut him down" Hailey said to Buffy.

Sam got to his feet and he and Buffy headed over to Tommy; Buffy held onto Tommy while Sam cut the rope from his wrists, she almost toppled over as she balanced Tommy in her arms. Hailey left Ben's side and rushed to her older brother and wrapped Tommy's arm around her shoulders and took him from Buffy.

"We're gonna get you home." Hailey said teary eyed, smiling, and she kissed her brother on his dirty, bloody cheek.

"Check it out"

Buffy, Sam, Ben and Hailey looked over to Dean; he stood in the corner of the pit, his green duffel at his feet, and he held two guns up for them to see.

"Flare guns…those'll work." Sam smiled.

Dean laughed, twirled the flare guns, and then turned to head down one of the three tunnels. The other five followed; Sam walked along side Dean, who handed one of the flare guns to Sam and they both held their gun out in different directions, keeping look out for the Wendigo, Hailey and a limping Tommy behind Dean and Sam, Ben behind his brother and sister and Buffy at the back.

Somehow she always ended up at the back.

They didn't get very far when they heard the low growl of the Wendigo and Dean chuckled. "Looks like someone's home for supper."

"We'll never outrun it." Hailey said quietly.

Dean dropped his gun to his side and looked at Sam with a raised eyebrow, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yeah I think so." Sam said, keeping the gun pointed out into the darkness.

Dean looked back at Hailey, Ben and Tommy, "All right listen to me. Stay with Sam and Buffy, they're gonna get you out of here." he told them.

Hailey shook her head slightly, "What are you gonna do?"

Dean smirked and gave Hailey a wink before carrying on into the tunnel with his gun out in front of him, "Chow time you freaky bastard! Yeah that's right, bring it on baby, I taste good!" he yelled down the bottom of the tunnel before heading off into another tunnel on the right.

"All right come on. Hurry!" Sam said before heading in a different direction from Dean and the other three followed him quickly.

"Hey! Hey you want some white meat bitch!? I'm right here!" Buffy could hear Dean yell from one of the tunnels.

Buffy laughed silently at Dean's stupid bravery until she heard the crunching of dirt and the deep growl of the Wendigo.

Buffy and Sam both turned to face each other.

"Get them outta here." Buffy told Sam.

Sam tilted his head, "What are you gonna do?"

Buffy stood straight, ignoring the piercing white-hot pain in her back, and sucked in a breath, "I'm gonna distract the son-of-a-bitch"

Sam didn't say anything; he tilted his head and frowned at her.

"Go!" Buffy yelled when they heard the growl again.

Sam gave the flare gun to Buffy before he led Hailey, Tommy and Ben down the rest of the tunnel while Buffy stayed behind; she stood still and listened to the scratching, scraping and the quiet rumbling growl.

"Come on. Come on." Buffy said closing her eyes and tightening her grip on the flare gun.

Buffy snapped her eyes open at the growl behind her, before she was even able to see the Wendigo behind her she was punched in the face as she turned and she flew through the air and landed on the bed of bones.

She screamed in agony as her back landed on the bed of skeletons but before she could register the pain the Wendigo was stood over her; he lifted his long arms over his head and drew out his claws, Buffy held up the flare gun and pulled the trigger - the Wendigo dodged the shot, the only shot she had - but the light from the flare blinded the Wendigo long enough for Buffy to chuck away the empty flare gun and use one of the bones to prop herself onto her knees, which happened to be one that was still reasonably fresh so she ended up with sticky blood all over her hands, and she drove the bone into the Wendigo's stomach before he could club her again.

The Wendigo stumbled backwards long enough for Buffy to get to her feet and run for the exit.

She ran halfway down the tunnel when she could hear a male voice.

"Sam?"

Buffy stopped when she reached a turn and saw Sam, Hailey, Tommy and Ben.

"Buffy!"

Buffy turned back and saw the Wendigo following behind her.

She turned back and looked at Sam, "Come on, hurry, hurry, hurry."

Buffy led them down the right turn and stopped so she was behind them, she gripped hold of the old bloody bone and pressed her back gingerly against the wall and waited for the Wendigo.

"Get behind Sam." she whispered to Hailey and her brothers who instantly followed her order and they huddled in a corner behind Sam.

Within seconds the Wendigo slowly turned the corner, Buffy pressed herself closer into the wall around the corner from the Wendigo's view, and the Wendigo started to growl when he saw Sam and the others standing there like bait.

As soon as the Wendigo had his full back to Buffy she ran for the Wendigo and jumped onto his back, wrapping her legs around its waist tightly, she wrapped the leg bone around his neck and choked him. Buffy tightened her grip on the bone the more the Wendigo squirmed, however the Wendigo was able to wrap his claws underneath the bone and throw Buffy over his back and slam her hard onto the floor.

"Buffy!" Sam yelled.

Winded and dizzy the Wendigo was able to grab Buffy by the throat and hoist her off her feet, she struggled for breath for a few seconds, and she could hear Sam yelling her name again and again.

Buffy scowled at the Wendigo's smiling face; well, she assumed it was smiling but because its teeth were too big for its mouth she couldn't really tell. Buffy gritted her teeth and drew her right elbow onto the Wendigo's left arm, grunting loudly to release as much strength as she could, and she snapped it completely, and the Wendigo screeched in pain and dropped Buffy to the floor. She landed on her right arm, which popped her shoulder out of place, and she let out a loud cry. Even with the snapped arm the Wendigo grabbed Buffy's leg, digging his claws deep into her calf which caused her to scream, and threw her into the far wall directly across the room from Sam and the others.

Hitting her head off the wall hard, Buffy was disoriented enough for the Wendigo to grab her by the throat again, this time gripping so hard she struggled to breathe; with the lack of oxygen and the impact of the fall she started to feel dizzy, her eye's started to blur and she slowly stopped struggling to break free, eventually her arms fell to her sides and the bone fell out of her hands.

"Hey!"

The Wendigo dropped Buffy to the ground and she made no effort to move; she turned her head just as Dean, who was stood at the only opening, shot his flare gun and she watched the Wendigo scream as it's insides burst into flames; she looked up at Dean, who stared down at her as he lowered the flare gun.

Buffy turned her head and looked back up at the ceiling, taking long deep breaths; it was her first real fight since she was brought back and she realised she was a little more rusty than she thought, she knew the Wendigo shouldn't have got the better of her; he was certainly fast and strong but she knew she could be stronger that that monster.

"Not bad, huh?" Dean called from the other end of the tunnel.

Sam rushed to Buffy's side and placed a hand on her arm, "Buffy? You OK?"

Buffy didn't say anything; she looked at Sam and grabbed his arm to help get her up. She looked around at the five faces: Hailey and Ben were a little wide eyed but had small smiles on their faces; Tommy was still droopy eyed but was now able to stand; Dean wore a little smile on his face, so proud of himself; and Sam looked at Buffy, finally seeing what she was capable of, how strong she could be.

"Let's get outta here" Buffy said to the two hunters and they all followed Dean back to the exit.

---

An hour or so later, the Ranger's Station car park was filled with flashing blue lights; police vehicles and an ambulance. Buffy sat on the wooden steps that led up to the Ranger's Station and she watched the event's around her: Tommy was in a stretcher and was being loaded into the ambulance while Ben was talking to one of the policemen with Sam beside him and Dean and Hailey were talking amongst themselves.

Buffy stood up slowly whilst trying to move her right arm as little as possible and she headed over to Sam and Ben as the policeman left them.

"Hey" Sam said when Buffy walked at his side to which Buffy just smiled slightly.

They headed over to Dean and Hailey just as Hailey kissed Dean on the cheek, she then turned and smiled at Sam and patted him on the chest.

"Thanks, Sam"

Sam just smiled.

Hailey stopped and gave Buffy a hug, to which Buffy refrained herself from crying in agony, "Thanks so much" Hailey whispered in Buffy's ear.

"Your welcome" Buffy whispered back.

When Hailey let her go Buffy sat on the hood of the Impala between the two boys and she watched Hailey and Ben get into the ambulance with Tommy and she smiled at the three of them just before the doors shut behind her.

"Man I hate camping" Dean said bluntly.

Buffy and Sam both let out a snort.

"Me too" Sam sighed.

"Took the words right out of my mouth" Buffy sighed.

No one said anything for a second until Dean drew in a breath, "Sam, you know we're gonna find dad, right?"

Sam sighed, "Yeah I know…but in the mean time…" he looked over at his brother and smirked, "I'm driving."

Dean slowly rolled his eyes and threw him the keys, they all got inside the car and Sam started up the engine. As soon as they were out of the Ranger's Station, Buffy lay down, on her left side, on the back seat and Dean rested his head on the passenger window.

"I'm gonna sleep for a month" Buffy yawned.

"Yeah, well make sure you don't get you blood on the leather or I'll do worse damage than the Wendigo" Dean explained sleepily,

Buffy laughed and closed her eyes, letting the purr and vibrations of the car ease her to sleep, ridding her brain and body of the trauma of her latest fight.

She woke ten minutes later as the car stopped and Sam killed the engine, he tapped a snoring Dean and got out of the car; Buffy opened the door and gingerly got out, taking extra care with her dislocated shoulder, and slowly shutting the door behind her.

"I'm gonna go to the diner across the street and grab us some burgers" Sam said, tossing the motel room key to Dean when he got out the Impala sleepily.

When Sam left them, Buffy and Dean went to their motel room; Dean threw his jacket on the chair as soon as he entered and stretched his aching bones, Buffy shut the door and she let out a small cry when she bumped her arm on the wall as she came into the room.

Dean turned around, "You OK?"

Buffy smiled, "Not really but I'll heal." Buffy turned around to open the duffel bag that lay on her bed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Dean took hold of Buffy's shoulder, luckily it was her left one, and straightened her, "The Son-Of-A-Bitch clawed you!"

Buffy turned her head slightly, "I know, I _was_ there!" She said sarcastically.

Dean let her go and went into the bathroom; he came out a second later with a black box and a white cloth and he set them both on the table, he pulled out a chair and turned it around and pointed at it.

"What?" Buffy asked.

"Sit"

Buffy sat on the chair the opposite way round, so her stomach was rested on the back of the chair.

"Why?"

"Well, I'm not as good as Doctor Sam but I'm gonna patch you up" Dean told her, "Now, could you lift your sweater up?" He asked.

Buffy turned her head and looked at him and he held his hands up and wore a smile, "So I can patch you up. That's it, I promise" He laughed.

Buffy laughed and slowly removed her ruined green sweater, taking extra care around her right shoulder, she threw it on the floor so all she was wearing was her black bra and her jeans and she smiled slightly when she heard Dean cough nervously.

He opened the black box and took out a bottle of antiseptic fluid and drenched the cloth in it; he wrapped the cloth around two of his fingers and he gently cleaned her fresh wounds, Buffy jerked her back at the sting of the antiseptic.

"Sorry, should've told you this stuff stings like a bitch" Dean said, stopping until Buffy relaxed again.

"No, It was just cold... I'm used to stingy stuff" Buffy replied as Dean carried on cleaning the wounds on her back, it felt like he drew small circles all over her back.

They were both silent for a while; Dean finished cleaning the wounds on both her back and her calf, he was now dressing the wound on her back when Buffy finally spoke.

"Thankyou, Dean" She mumbled.

"For what?" He asked as he taped the bandage to her back.

"Saving my life... Again" She laughed.

Dean got off his chair and knelt on the floor and wrapped a bandage around her calf.

"Again?"

Buffy twitched her leg so he would look up at her, "Sunnydale? On the tower built by crazy people?" Dean nodded once to signal he remembered and he taped up her leg.

"I was gonna jump, Dean" Buffy mumbled, not looking at him.

Dean held onto her bandaged calf and looked up at her, tilting his head slightly to the right.

"I was gonna kill myself so I could go back to...wherever I was....I was happy, at peace....then I was torn out, pulled out, by my friends to hell...when I crawled out, everything was harsh and bright and...violent. I thought I was sent to Hell and I just wanted to see...." Buffy looked down at Dean, water in her eyes, "Then you pulled me off just before it collapsed....and you and Sam, you guys know what your doing. I'm able to be the Slayer and go on hunts with you two without constantly looking over my shoulder to check if you're OK because I know you can take care of yourself.... And then today with the Wendigo...you saved me again" Buffy placed her hand on Dean's cheek, "Thankyou"

Dean smiled slightly for a moment before coughing and letting go of her leg; Buffy removed her hand from his cheek and she sat straight as Dean got off the floor.

Dean cleared his throat, "Is-Is that everything?"

Buffy smiled and got off the chair, wincing at her arm and held her left hand out to Dean, "Give me your hand."

Dean raised his eyebrows at her, "What?"

"Give me your hand!" Buffy laughed.

She took hold of Dean's left hand and placed it on her right shoulder and pushed him against the wall.

"Whoa, Buffy, you haven't even bought me a beer yet" Dean joked.

"My shoulders dislocated, I need you to put it back in." Buffy explained and put her left hand on his chest.

Dean removed his hand from her shoulder, "You want me to do what? No way!"

He tried to move but Buffy pushed him back into the wall with a bit of her Slayer strength to which he gave her a wide eyed look at her grasp on his arm; unable to believe the strength.

"Don't worry, I'll be quick" She put his hand back on her shoulder, "Now, grip it as tight as you can and don't move your arm"

She winced a little at Dean's grip, realising he was stronger than she thought, but took a deep breath and leaned her broken right shoulder in sharply to Dean's chest and cried out when she felt and heard the _"Pop"._

Buffy sighed and laughed as the pain subsided and she rested her head on his chest and sighed again.

She looked back up when the door opened and Sam entered with two big paper bags; he stopped suddenly when he saw Buffy, who was in only a bra ind jeans, and Dean against the wall.

"I'll uh, come back later" Sam laughed.

Dean let go of Buffy's shoulder and moved away from the wall, "She dislocated her shoulder... She needed me to pop it back in..."

Buffy went to her bed and dug out a large t-shirt from her black duffel and put it on.

"OK" Sam smiled and shut the door behind him.

"Well, Doctor Sam wasn't here to help." Dean mumbled.

Sam turned and smiled at his brother, "What?" he looked over at Buffy who just shrugged.

"Never mind... Bitch" Dean mumbled and headed to the bathroom and slamming it behind him.

When Buffy got into her bed she removed her leather pants from under the covers and snuggled down.

Sam put the paper bags onto the table and gave her a burger and a carton of fries and he laughed.

"What?" Buffy asked putting a fry in her mouth.

Sam sat on the edge of the table and ate a handful of fries, "That must have killed Dean to see you in your underwear and not being able to do anything to you... Awesome" He laughed.

Buffy smiled and ate more of her fries and both of them fell into a fit of laughter when Dean emerged from the bathroom, still looking uncomfortable.

Dean punched Sam lightly on the arm, "Shut Up!" he said and took his food over to the other bed.

Sam sat and ate at the table, he pulled out the notebook from Dean's jacket pocket and flipped through it.

"What is that thing?" Buffy asked, pointing a fry at the notebook.

Sam looked down at the leather notebook and then frowned slightly when he looked back at Buffy, like he didn't really trust her enough to tell her.

"It's uh..."

"It's our Dad's journal." Dean told Buffy, ignoring Sam's wide-eyed look, "Inside, it's got everything he's ever come up against and how to kill it"

Buffy swallowed her fries, "Like the Wendigo?"

"And many more where that came from" He replied.

Buffy nodded then fell silent as she finished her food.

They all ate the rest of their dinner, saying very little but making some sort of conversation, then when they all finished eating Sam turned off the lights and slept on the couch as Dean had already called shotgun on the bed.

---

For the first time since she crawled out of her grave; Buffy slept with a smile on her face.

* * *

Well, there you go. That was my version of "Wendigo".... Hope you liked it.....

Stay tuned for the next Episode "Dead In The Water"


	3. Dead In The Water

Okay I know you guy's have been waiting ages for this and im soooo sorry it took so long... the first few episodes of season 1 aren't my favorite but I'm doing **Bloody Mary** next. I'm skipping **Phantom Traveller **because I dont think it has much relevence and its not one of my faves. =)

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Eric Kripke owns Supernatural and it's scripts and Joss Wheedon owns Buffy. This was made for fun.

I used the TwizTv script for Supernatural Season 1, Episode 3 "Dead In The Water" but I've jazzed it up. Hope you like. As always, reviews are always nice.

* * *

A week had passed since Black Water Ridge and they still felt the aftermath of the Wendigo: Dean was still a little stiff and his ribs were still a little tender, but the cuts on his forehead and neck had started to close up, so he was still a bit crabby at times. Sam, on the other hand, was perfectly OK, no cut's, no bruises, nothing. Buffy had the worst of the attack but you wouldn't think of it by looking at her: the claw marks on her back were closed up and her calf was now fully healed and, thanks to her Slayer healing abilities the healed skin left no scar but were still a little tender, her ribs were now fully healed too – it still hurt her sometimes when she stretched but after years of broken re-healed ribs she knew the pain would pass. Dean was surprised that Buffy was able to move her dislocated shoulder with ease as soon as she popped it back into place; when he had to have his shoulder put back into place by Sam he couldn't move properly without it hurting for a week and almost constantly kept an ice pack on the joint. But Buffy, she was able to carry things and move it around instantly without wincing... _Maybe there's more to a Slayer than I thought?_

Dean was sat at the counter of a busy diner just outside of Wisconsin, surrounded by empty plates all belonging to him, and he read the local newspaper as Buffy and Sam freshened up in the bathroom. He flicked through the paper until he found his favorite section: the Obituaries; reading the latest headline he circled the picture of a smiley blonde girl.

"Can I get you anything else?" He looked up from his paper, sucking on the tip of the pen, and smiled when he saw a tall, blonde waitress smiling down at him.

"Just the check please." Sam said as he sat down beside his brother.

"Okay." The waitress smiled at Sam before leaving them. Dean rested his hands on the counter, closed his eyes, sighed, dropped his head then looked back up at his brother.

"You know, Sam, we are allowed to have fun once in a while." Dean stated then pointed to the leggy blonde waitress in shorts as she went into the kitchen. "That's fun!" He finished.

Sam looked down and Dean instantly regretted saying anything; he handed Sam the newspaper he'd been circling just as Buffy came out around the corner, smiling at the leggy blonde as she passed her to get into the kitchen, and sat down next to Sam and looked at the picture circled on the newspaper.

"I think I got one. Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin. Last week Sophie Carlton, Eighteen, walks into the lake, doesn't walk out. Authorities dragged the water—nothing. Sophie Carlton is the third Lake Manitoc drowning this year. None of the other bodies were found either. They had a funeral two days ago." Dean explained.

"A funeral?" Buffy asked as she took a sip of her Diet Coke. Dean nodded, "They buried an empty coffin. For uh, closure. Or whatever."

"Closure?" Sam scoffed, "What closure? People don't just disappear, Dean." Sam looked down at the paper, "Other people just stop looking for them." He added.

Dean swiveled his chair around and raised his brows at his brother, "Something you want to say to me?"

Sam sighed and looked back up, "The trail for dad—it's getting colder every day." Sam protested.

"Exactly, so what are we supposed to do?" Dean asked curtly.

Sam shrugged, "I don't know. Something. Anything."

"You know what? I'm sick of this attitude. You don't think I wanna find dad as much as you do?" Dean spat.

Sam closed his eyes and took in a long breath; Buffy was so used to the boys' arguments already that she knew not to get involved so she just sat there in silence drinking her Diet Coke and reading the obituary on Sophie Carlton. "Yeah, I know you do, it's just—"

"I'm the one that's been with him every single day for the past two years, while you've been off to college going to pep rallies. We will find dad, but until then, we're gonna kill everything bad between here and there. Okay?"

Buffy watched the pair stare each other out for another minute, like they were now arguing mentally, before Sam gave up and rolled his eyes. "All right, Lake Manitoc. Hey!" He lightly punched Dean on his shoulder to get his attention as he was too busy eyeing up the leggy waitress as she walked past them yet again and handed Buffy the check.

"Huh?" Dean looked back at his brother.

"How far?"

Dean looked at his watch, "A couple of hours drive from here… we should get there just after two. You both ready?"

Sam nodded and gout out of his seat, "I'll get you at the car" he said before leaving the diner.

Dean and Buffy both got out of their seats; Buffy downed the last of her Diet Coke, slamming the empty glass down before pulling out her wallet.

"Uh-uh!" Dean took her wallet from her and put it back in the back pocket of her jeans.

"Dean, what are you doing?" She laughed.

Dean got out his wallet, took out a few bills and put them on the table, "A woman never pay's for the first date" He smiled at Buffy.

Buffy smiled slightly, "You can't help yourself can you?" she laughed as she put on her denim jacket.

Dean just smiled, "Come on, Shorty" he mumbled as he headed out of the diner with Buffy following behind.

---

Just over two hours later they drove past a large _'Welcome to Lake Manitoc, WI.'_ Sign; they drove through the town and eventually stopped outside an old cabin situated beside a large grey lake. Dean killed the engine and got out his fake I.D tin, he took out two I.D cards and handed one to Sam.

"Let's go" he said as he got out the car.

Buffy opened her door but Dean shut it again, "What do you think you're doing?" he asked through the open window.

"What does it look like? I'm coming with you" She answered.

Dean smiled and shook his head, "I don't think so." He held up a finger as she began to protest, "Look, it's gonna look shifty if all three of us go. Stay here."

Buffy sighed, "Why do I have to stay here? Why can't you or Sam stay here?"

Sam smiled as Dean grew more and more uncomfortable, "Buffy," he sighed, "you have no fakes yet so if they ask for I.D we'd be screwed. Now, just stay in the car till we get back okay?"

Buffy sighed, "Okay, as long as I get to put music on?"

"No" Dean replied hastily.

"Dean!" Buffy spat out the window, pouting her lips a bit, she hated staying in the car.

"Nobody touches the radio except me" He explained a little too seriously.

Buffy smiled slightly, "Well, I'm gonna touch it anyway. If I'm expected to sit out here for ages I'm gonna listen to music" she protested and crawled her way to the driver's seat, ignoring Dean's calls she turned the key in the ignition and turned on the radio. Out blasted ACDC's 'Back In Black', Buffy wasn't a fan of this song but she sat in the driver's seat with her eyes closed and smiling as she imagined Dean's face getting redder and redder.

She opened her eyes as the boys headed up the wooden steps, Sam knocked on the door and a second later she saw a man – probably around sixteen – answer the door. Dean and Sam showed their badges to the boy, who she presumed was the dead girls brother Will Carlton. The three of them spoke for a minute before the boy led them around the back of the house towards the lake. She saw Dean turn and give her one last scowl, to which she just smiled and waved and laughed at his childishness.

---

"She was about 100 yards out. That's where she got dragged down." Will Carlton told them when they got to lake.

"Are you sure she didn't just drown?" Dean asked.

Will shook his head, "She was a varsity swimmer. She practically grew up in that lake. She was as safe out there as she was in her own bathtub." He looked out into the gray abyss beside him.

"So no splashing? No signs of distress?" Sam asked, jotting down notes in a tiny notepad.

"No, that's what I'm telling you." Will's reply was almost hysterical.

"Did you see any shadows in the water? Maybe some dark shapes reach the surface?" Sam asked after a minute's silence.

Will shook his head, "No. Again, she was really far out there."

Dean looked around at the wilderness surrounding the lake, "You ever see any strange tracks by the shoreline?"

"No never. Why? What do you thinks' out there?"

"We'll let you know as soon as we do." He replied as he turned and headed back to the Impala.

"What about your father? Can we talk to him?" Sam asked.

Will turned and looked out onto the deck, his father was sat still on the bench near the lake, he looked back at Sam, "Look, if you don't mind, I mean…he didn't see anything and he's kind of been through a lot."

"We understand." Sam nodded and headed back to the Impala.

When he got back to the front of the house Dean was stood absolutely still and shock and fury rolled across his face, that when Sam heard the faint sound of Gwen Stefani coming from the car; Buffy was also sat in the driver's seat reading her magazine, singing along with the music, with her feet up on the dashboard.

"Dean?" Sam asked, trying to hold back a laugh.

Dean snapped out of it and ran at the car and banged on the driver's window, Buffy turned to face the window and smiled. "That was fast, I was just getting comfy" she said as she rolled down the window, chewing gum, and turned off the radio.

"Yeah I can see that" Dean grimaced, "Get out of my seat" he grumbled as he opened the door.

Buffy grinned as she scrambled back onto the backseat and Sam giggled as he headed to the passenger door and got inside. Dean threw Buffy's magazine behind him to her and turned the ignition; he jumped when loud pop girly music spread throughout the car to which Buffy and Sam greatly embarrassed him more by laughing at him. He turned off the radio and pulled out of the driveway and turned back into town.

"So, where too next?" Buffy asked breaking the awkward silence.

"_We're _going to the station to follow up some leads. _You're_ going to the motel" Dean said as he made a right turn.

Buffy moved to the edge of the seat and swiveled around to see Dean, "What?! Why do I have to go to the motel?"

"Like I said earlier, no I.D's…" Dean replied without looking at her.

"Bull!" Buffy yelled, Dean cast a wary look down at her, "Look, I'm in this fight to ya'no… remember when I told you I was a Slayer?! You can't keep locking me up or hiding me away until you need me to save your ass! I'm in this too"

"Dean, she's right" Sam sighed and cast a wary glance at his brother.

Dean sighed, "Fine" he said after a moment, he turned another corner, "Just let Sam and I talk to the cop's – on our own – and then you can be as into the hunt as you want. Deal?" He looked down at her with a slight smile.

"Deal" Buffy said after a moment.

Dean pulled up outside the motel and headed to reception as Sam and Buffy got their stuff from the trunk and followed Dean to their room.

"We shouldn't be too long." Dean called to Buffy as he and Sam headed for the door.

"OK," Buffy said as she came out of the bathroom and sat down on the bed closest to the front door.

Dean looked at her and began to say something but decided against it and left the room, Sam said goodbye to Buffy before leaving. As soon as the door closed behind them Buffy let out a long groan and lay on the bed.

"What the hell am I going to do?" She asked herself after a moment.

She sat up and took out her wallet, checking her change, before taking the motel keys and leaving the motel. She had no idea where she was going or what she was going to do, she just knew she had to keep moving, keep herself busy so she wasn't alone with her thoughts. She wandered around a few of the stores, picking up herself a new purple checkered shirt, a pair of brown corduroy pants, a new teal sweater, a long white gypsy skirt and a pair of white wedge shoes. The act of retail therapy made her feel instantly better. Before heading back to the motel she stopped off at an ice cream truck and waited in line; when it was her turn she stepped towards the truck but missing the kerb and stumbling into the customers before her.

"Oh, Sorry!" Buffy said as she got her balance back; she looked to see a young brunette woman around her age and a young red headed boy around six staring at the ice cream on the floor.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" Buffy exclaimed.

"It's fine, don't worry about it" The woman smiled back.

"Let me buy him another" Buffy said, when the woman nodded Buffy told the ice cream vendor for two of the ice creams the boy just bought.

She handed the ice cream to the boy, he didn't take it, and so the woman took it instead, "Thanks"

Buffy paid the vendor and she, the woman and her son walked back onto the street.

"No problem, it was my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going" Buffy replied.

The woman stopped at the corner of the street, "I'm Andrea," she looked down at the boy by her side and smiled, "this is Lucas"

"Buffy" Buffy replied, holding out her hand to which the woman shook.

"Anyway, my father's expecting us so… It was nice bumping into you" Andrea laughed.

Buffy smiled, "Yeah, nice to meet you" she said as Andrea and her son walked around the corner.

Buffy ate her Ice Cream as she took a slow walk back to the motel.

---

"Now, I'm sorry, but why does the Wildlife Service care about an accidental drowning?" The officer in charge, Jake Bar, asked Sam and Dean when they entered the station.

"You sure it's accidental? Will Carlton saw something grab his sister." Sam asked as he and Dean followed him into a small room.

"Like what?" He gestured to the two seats next to the desk, "Here sit please. There are no indigenous carnivores in that lake. There's nothing even big enough to pull down a person, unless it was the Loch Ness monster." Jake said as he sat down in his chair.

"Yeah…right." Dean laughed but stopped when Sam glared at him.

"Will Carlton was traumatized, and sometimes the mind plays tricks. Still, we dragged that entire lake. We even ran a sonar sweep just to be sure, and there was nothing down there." Jake stated.

Dean sat forward, "That's weird though I mean that's…that's the third missing body this year."

"I know. These are people from my town. These are people I care about." Jake replied.

Dean nodded, "I know."

"Anyway," Jake sighed, "All this—it won't be a problem much longer."

Dean frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Well the dam, of course."

Dean smiled, "Of course…the dam. It's uh…sprung a leak." He guessed.

"It's falling apart, and the feds won't give us the grant to repair it, so they've opened the spillway. In another six months there won't be much of a lake. There won't be much of a town either. But as Federal Wildlife, you already knew that." Jake gave Dean a knowing look.

Dean smiled, "Exactly."

There was a light tap on the door and a young brunette woman entered, "Sorry, am I interrupting? I can come back later." She said.

Jake got out of his chair and headed over to the girl, "Gentlemen, this is my daughter."

Dean and Sam got up. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Dean." He smiled and shook her hand.

The woman smiled, "Andrea Bar. Hi." She greeted.

"Hi." Dean greeted again.

"They're from the Wildlife Service about the lake." Jake informed his daughter.

"Oh." She said shockingly looking at the pair.

A small boy walked into the room from around Andrea.

Dean smiled and bent down, "Oh hey there. What's your name?"

The young boy walked away without looking or speaking to him with Andrea following him.

"His name is Lucas." Jake answered Dean's question.

Sam looked out of the window that looked out to the police station, Andrea was sat beside her son and she handed him something out of a box. "Is he okay?"

Jake sighed, "My grandson's been through a lot. We all have. Well if there's anything else I can do for you, please let me know." Jake said as he led them back out into the station to where Andrea and Lucas was sat.

"Thanks." Dean said, he stopped before leaving and turned to Andrea with a smile, "You know, now that you mentioned it, could you point us in the direction of a reasonably priced hotel?"

"Lakefront motel, go around the corner, it's about two blocks south." Andrea stated.

"Two. Would you mind showing us?" Dean coaxed.

Andrea laughed, "You want me to walk you two blocks?"

"Not if it's any trouble." He smiled.

Andrea smiled politely, "I'm headed that way anyway." She turned her attention to her father, "I'll be back to pick up Lucas at three." She turned to her son, "We'll go to the park, okay sweetie?" she kissed him on the head before heading outside.

Dean waved to Jake and Lucas and Jake nodded a goodbye. "Thanks again." Sam said as he and Dean left the station.

"So…" Dean began to fill the silence as he and Sam followed Andrea down the street, "cute kid."

Andrea turned her head to face Dean and she smiled, "Thanks."

"Kids are the best, huh?" Dean asked flirtingly. Andrea stopped and pointed to a large white building, with a sign saying "Lakefront Motel" in blue; the motel in which they were already checked in with.

"There it is. Like I said, two blocks." Andrea chuckled and turned to Dean, "It must be hard with your sense of direction. Never being able to find your way to a decent pickup line." She smiled as she saw Dean's smile fall, "Enjoy your stay!" she called as she walked away down the side street.

Sam grinned at Dean's expression, "Kids are the best"? You don't even like kids." He stated.

"I love kids!" He protested.

"Name three children that you even know."

Dean began to say something but then confusion filled his face; Sam couldn't be bothered waiting forever for him to realize he doesn't know many children so he waved a hand at his brother dismissively and headed to their motel room.

Dean scratched his head and followed, "I'm thinking!" he yelled.

Sam laughed at him as he opened the motel room door and he and Dean entered to an empty room.

"Buffy?" Sam called as he shut the door behind Dean.

"She must've gone to get her nails done or something" Dean joked as he took of his jacket and placed it on the back of one of the dining chairs before falling onto the small sofa and shut his eyes.

Sam chucked his jacket on one of the beds and sat down and retrieved his laptop from its bag and turned it on. Just as Dean began to fall asleep and Sam was getting into 'research-mode' a large cloud of steam rose out of the opening door. Buffy, wearing a small red towel around her body and her hair limp, damp and falling at her shoulder's, screamed in shock when she saw the pair in the room. Dean jumped and opened his eyes to see the scantily clad Slayer stood at the bathroom doorway clutching at her chest.

"Jeez! Are you two trying to kill me?!" She yelled, "You could've called out or something!" she told them as she went over to the bed nearest the bathroom and put one of the shopping bags on the bed.

"Sorry, Buffy, we didn't mean to scare you… We did call out though, we thought you went out" Sam said, trying to avert his eyes from the Slayers bare smooth wet tanned legs and earning an amused glance from his brother.

"Oh, sorry, I was taking a long shower," she explained feebly as she tipped out the contents of the shopping bag and rummaged through the clothes.

"I see you went shopping," Dean said, turning his head slightly every time she walked around the bed so he got a good view of her legs and the bottom of her ass.

"Yeah," Buffy said distantly, holding up the new white skirt before putting it back down and opening the wardrobe behind her which held all her clothes, all neatly folded or hung up on wire hangers.

"It's nice to see you're spending your money wisely" Dean commented.

Buffy took out an orange spaghetti strap top and threw it on the bed, "What's your point, Dean?" she asked turning to face him and adjusted her towel. "I won that money fare and square…." She took the skirt, the top and some underwear and headed back to the bathroom, before she shut the door she turned back around and smiled at Dean, "It's not my fault that you didn't believe me when I said I could kick your ass at arm wrestling"

---

When she emerged back from the bathroom twenty minutes later dressed and her hair was blow-dried and neatly curled with only light makeup gracing her skin. Sam and Dean were still in the same spots she'd left them in, well except Dean was now rummaging through his own clothes to decipher which were clean and which were not.

"So there are the three drowning victims this year." Sam told them as Buffy came out of the bathroom and sprawled out on Sam's bed and rested her head on one of her hands propped up by her elbow.

"Any before that?" Dean asked as he threw one of his shirts back on the bed and pulled out another.

"Uh yeah…six more spread out over the past 35 years. Those bodies were never recovered either. If there is something out there, it's picking up its pace." Sam replied as he opened up a few other news reports on the same lake.

"So what, we got a lake monster on a binge?" Dean stated more than asked as he threw a shirt past Buffy and onto the other bed.

Sam let out a long sigh, "This whole lake monster thing—It, It just bugs me."

"Why?" Buffy asked mainly to get into the conversation. Sometimes she felt like they forgot she was there.

Sam looked over at Buffy, "Loch Ness, uh Lake Champlain—There are literally hundreds of eyewitness accounts, but here, almost nothing." He looked back at the laptop and so did Dean, "Whatever it is out there, no one's living to talk about it." Sam mumbled.

All of a sudden Dean tapped on the laptop screen, "Wait, Bar, Christopher Bar. Where have I heard that name before?"

"Christopher Bar, the victim in May." Opening a webpage Sam read the rest of the information. "Oh…Christopher Bar was Andrea's husband. Lucas' father."  
At the sound of the names Buffy got up and stood beside Dean and all three looked at the picture of the small red head boy in the arms of a police officer. Dean sighed and looked away, placing a hand on his arm Buffy gave it a squeeze. "Apparently, he took Lucas out swimming. Lucas was on a floating wooden platform when Chris drowned, two hours before the kid got rescued." Sam sighed and pulled at his hair, "Maybe we have an eyewitness after all."

Dean stared at the picture of Lucas, "No wonder that kid was so freaked out."

"Watching one of your parents die isn't something you just get over." Both Dean and Buffy said in unison, both looking at each other quizzically then at Sam who was eyeing them both up.

"So," Sam sighed and looked up at his brother and Buffy, "What do we do now?"

Buffy looked at the picture again, recognizing the boy from the ice cream truck earlier, "We have to talk to Andrea."

Dean nodded slowly, "I think I know where she may be," picking up his jacket he headed for the door only to stop when he heard more than 2 footsteps behind him.

Turning around he saw Buffy following beside Sam, "What are you doing?"

Buffy stopped and looked at Dean like he'd just sprouted horns, "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm coming with you" When Dean shook his head Buffy scowled, "We had a deal Dean"

Dean grimaced, "Look, if you had met the girl and her son Id let you. But you haven't and it'll only freak her out if you came along" He didn't even wait for an answer and continued toward the Impala.

Buffy smiled and continued to follow, "So your saying that if I had met Andrea then you'd let me come along?" she asked innocently.

Dean stopped at the driver door and held it open, turned and smiled/grimaced at Buffy, "That's exactly what I'm saying"

Buffy held her hand up just above her head, "About this tall, long wavy brown hair, white t-shirt, white peasant skirt. Has a bit of a Texan accent?" She smiled.

Dean's face fell and Buffy could hear Sam laughing from inside the Impala.

"I met her this morning at an Ice Cream truck. Bought Lucas an Ice Cream." Buffy smiled at Dean, she patted him on the cheek, "come on we'll miss her if you don't get your butt in gear." She said as she climbed into the back seat.

Dean slammed Buffy's door shut and brought his hand to his head, pretending to pull a trigger at his head, and climbed into the driver's seat.

---

After a few minutes and a couple of wrong turns and Dean swearing at himself they arrived at the park. It wasn't far past three and already there were loads of children playing on the swings and slides and jungle gyms while there were a few mothers sat on the benches that were dotted around the park. Buffy spotted Angela sitting at one of the nearest benches by herself with a sad smile across her face and Buffy recognized that smile. She wore it many times after her mother passed. She also remembered how lucky she was to have her friends by her and wondered if she had anyone beside her father. When Buffy felt a slight tug on her left shoulder she came out of her daydream and looked to her left where Dean stopped and had concern on his face.

"I still think you coming is a bad idea"

Buffy didn't say anything; she just smiled slightly at Dean and followed Sam over to Andrea. After a moment Dean sighed and followed Buffy.

"Can we join you?" Buffy heard Sam say as she and Dean caught up.

Andrea turned from watching her son to see both Sam and Dean standing in front of her and she smiled. "I'm here with my son." She explained.

Dean looked over at the park; Lucas was kneeling in the center of the park drawing on a wooden seat. "Oh…" He turned and smiled at Andrea, "Mind if I say hi?" Without giving anyone a chance to say anything he headed over to Lucas.

Buffy came from behind Sam and waved at Andrea, who was chuckling at Dean as he walked over to her son, "Hey"

Andrea's eyes widened and she smiled, "Hi… We meet again." She laughed. Looking over at Dean talking to Lucas she laughed again, "Tell your friend those whole "Jerry Maguire" thing's not gonna work on me."

Sam slowly sat down beside Andrea and smiled slightly, "I don't think that's what this is about."

Buffy watched as Dean headed slowly towards Lucas, she had no clue why he was going over there or what he was planning on doing but he seemed confidant.

"So," Buffy turned and smiled at Andrea, "You know these two?" Buffy looked at her confused for a moment then the realization popped in her head and she laughed lightly. "Oh you mean Sam and Dean. Yeah…" she looked nervously up at Sam for a split second before wrapping her arm around his waist, "Sam's, uh, my boyfriend? Yep he's my boyfriend."

Sam glared down at Buffy for a few seconds before smiling uncomfortably and also put an arm around her shoulders, "Yep… that's me… her… boyfriend."

Andrea smiled, Buffy couldn't see if Andrea actually believed them or not but she didn't call her out on it, "That's great."

"So, Andrea," Sam started, removing Buffy from his uncomfortable grasp, "I heard about what happened with Lucas' father and I just want to give you my condolences. I know it must be hard for you."

"Thanks. It was hard at first but it doesn't hurt as much anymore. The only thing that upsets me now is that Lucas doesn't talk about it… about anything anymore. He just draws all the time, he never liked drawing before and now…" Buffy placed a hand on Andrea's shoulder, signaling that she could stop talking if she wanted too.

"So, Lucas hasn't talked at all since?" Sam asked, ignoring Buffy's look.

In the corner of her eye Buffy spotted Dean heading towards them and saw Lucas pick up the pad when Dean left his side and she half smiled, whatever he said seemed to have worked, and turned her attention back on Andrea.

"Lucas hasn't said a word, not even to me—not since his dad's accident."

Dean stopped when he reached Andrea and stood between her and Buffy, "Yeah we heard. Sorry."

"What are the doctors saying?" Sam asked.

Andrea just sighed, "That it's a kind of post-traumatic stress."

Sam shook his head, "Like I said before, that can't be easy, for either of you."

"We moved in with my dad." She looked to Buffy and Dean, "He helps out a lot. It's just…when I think about what Lucas went through, what he saw…"

"Kids are strong. You'd be surprised what they can deal with." Dean stated after a moment.

Andrea looked back over at Lucas, "You know he used to have such life. He was hard to keep up with, to tell you the truth. Now he just sits there. Drawing those pictures; playing with those army men. I just wish…" she stopped when Lucas came up to them and she smiled, "Hey sweetie."

Lucas stopped between Andrea and Dean and handed the picture in his hands to Dean.

Taking the picture, which was a drawing of a house with a red roof, Dean smiled a bit, "Thanks…Thanks Lucas." Before Dean had even finished thanking Lucas he was already heading back to the bench with his drawings.

Everyone looked at the drawing in Dean's hand, Andrea was especially wide eyed.

"You know…" Buffy piped up after a too long awkward silence, "we should probably get going." She started walking backwards towards the car and smiled, "It was nice seeing you again Andrea."

Andrea nodded and smiled, "You too Buffy. See you…" she waved as Dean and Sam followed Buffy back to the car.

"So, what, are you and Andrea like best buds now? Did she not wonder who you were and why you were with us?" Dean asked as he pulled out the keys and opened the doors.

"We had it under control" Sam said as he got in the front with Dean.

"Yeah," Buffy shut the door behind her and she leant forward so she could see both Sam and Dean, "I just told Andrea that I was Sam's girlfriend" she smiled.

Dean turned his head and stared at Buffy with wide eyes and a furrowed brow to which Sam burst out in laughter.

"What? She didn't ask any more questions after that so I'm guessing she believed it" Buffy smiled innocently.  
Dean looked between the pair and shook his head before starting up the car and heading out of the park.

"I'm keeping my eye on you two" he mumbled and shook his head.

Buffy smiled to Sam and ruffled Dean's hair as he drove, "Aww Look at you being all 'Over-protective big brother'" she giggled as Dean moved his head so she stopped ruffling his hair and he sighed in annoyance. Buffy looked over at Sam and they both exchanged grins, "If I didn't know any better Dean, I'd think you were jealous." She said still smiling at Sam.

Dean looked over at the smiling pair, "What?! Please, like I'd ever be jealous of Sasquatch… or you for that matter. I'm keeping my eye on you because I still can't trust you." He added at the end.

Buffy's smile faded, she cleared her throat and sat back in her seat and stared out the window. Sam pursed his lips and slapped Dean on the arm.

"What?" Sam tilted his head toward the back of the car and Dean looked in the rearview mirror at Buffy staring out the window, glancing back at Sam he shrugged and looked back at the road he was driving on. Sam just sighed and shook his head and stared out his window. Hating awkward silences Dean turned on the cassette player and out blared Metallica for the hundredth time, Dean sang along with each song until they reached the motel.

---

"I'm gonna go and get us something to eat," Sam said as he got out the car and moved into the driver's side and started the car after Dean threw him the keys before following Buffy up to the motel room. Upon entering the motel room Dean threw the room key onto the table and took of his jacket and he jumped slightly when Buffy slammed the bathroom door behind her. Dean looked over to the closed door, shut his eyes, took a deep breath and punched the table softly.

"Idiot" he said to himself as he sat down on the chair and took of his boots then moved to one of the beds and ran his hands through his hair.

After a few minutes he heard the door open and looking up he saw Buffy enter the room quietly and sat down on the other bed.

"You okay?"

Buffy glanced over at him, her facial expression telling him nothing about how she was feeling, "I'm fine" she said coldly.

Dean pursed his lips and nodded slowly, out of the corner of his eye he watched her take a magazine from the night stand and flick through it forcefully. After a minute or so Dean sat up and turned to face her, "Look, Buffy, I'm… I'm sorry for what I said before in the car. About the not trusting you… I didn't mean it. Well, I did sort of but that's because all we know about you is that you're some kind of superhero and according to our father we should stay away from you so… I don't know…" Dean trailed off after he realized he'd said more than he was meant to.

As he was speaking Buffy stopped flicking through the magazine and when he finished she set the magazine back on the nightstand and she scooted to the bottom of the bed and sat right across from him.

"So why not ask me?"

Dean raised an eyebrow, "Ask you what?"

"Anything. You say you can't trust me because you know nothing about me. Well, ask me and I'll tell you." She explained.

Dean thought for a moment. "Did you grow up in Sunnydale?"

"No, I was brought up in L.A but me and my mom and sister moved after I got kicked out of school and my father left us."

Dean raised his eyebrows at her answer, not what he was expecting, and thought again, "Have you always known you're a Slayer?"

Buffy looked at the floor and shook her head, "No, I didn't find out until I was fifteen."

"Did you tell anyone?"

"I tried telling my parents once… but they thought I was just 'acting out' and didn't believe me so I never told anyone until I moved to Sunnydale."

"Who knew in Sunnydale?"

"Well, My watcher obviously…" she saw the look on Dean's face and sighed, "He's like my trainer, he teaches me how to fight and helps me with research-"

"-Ahh he's your Mr. Myagi." Dean smiled.

Buffy raised an eyebrow, "I guess you could call him that"

"Did anyone else know?"

"Not for a while but a couple of people I was friends with got into some trouble of the vampire variety and I helped them out so for the last five or six years they've been helping me with my slaying and research and stuff."

Dean didn't say anything for a while.

"It must be nice, having people know what you do and not get freaked out… friends who are willing to help you out" Dean said, though Buffy felt it wasn't really directed to her, like he was just speaking out loud.

"Yeah it's nice, when they do the research I can just go out and do my job but… most of time… because of my job it comes with a lot of trouble and most of the time those friends get caught in the crossfire… sometimes I don't like having the weight of protecting them on my shoulders. At least you two have been trained to fight."

Again Dean didn't say anything for a while; he just stared at the floor for a few minutes. Then just as Buffy was about to move Dean lifted his head and spoke. "Does your mom know?"

"Well not at first but some stuff happened and I had to tell her. So she knew for about three years."

"Knew?"

Buffy looked Dean in the eyes and her face fell, "She died… A brain tumor"

Dean's face pulled into an 'O' "Oh, um, I'm sorry"

Buffy half smiled, "its okay." She shuffled slightly in her seat, "What about your mom, does she know what you do? Is she with your dad?"

Dean looked back at the floor again and rubbed his hands together, entwining his fingers together, "She died when I was four."

Buffy stiffened and sighed, "I'm sorry. H-How did she die?"

Dean looked up at her, "House fire," he said, only telling her half the truth leaving out all the Yellow-Eyed Demon bits, "Me, Sammy and my dad barely got out. She didn't make it…"

They both didn't say anything for a few minutes, Dean's eyes returned to the floor again. _What the hell is wrong with me? You've only known this girl barely two days and your already telling her what happened to your mother?!_

Dean's thoughts were cut off when he felt something on his hands, looking at them he saw Buffy's hand run against his and squeeze them, looking up at her she held a sad smile. "I'm sorry"

Dean gave her a half smile back in thanks and placed one of his hands over hers lightly.

---

After a couple of seconds Dean and Buffy heard the familiar rumbling engine and not seconds after they removed hands Sam entered the motel room.

"So, I think it's safe to say we can rule out Nessie." He said throwing a fast food bag at Dean.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked as he looked through the bag and took out his burger and fries then handed the bag to Buffy.

Sam sat on the edge of the bed beside Dean, "I just drove past the Carlton house. There was an ambulance there. Will Carlton is dead."

"He drowned?" Dean asked through a mouthful of burger.

"Yep. In the sink." Sam dead-panned.

Dean and Buffy looked at each other before Buffy looked up at Sam, "What the hell?"

"So you're right, this isn't a creature; we're dealing with something else." Dean said.

Sam nodded "Yeah, but what?"

Dean shrugged, "I don't know."

"A water wraith maybe?" Buffy spoke up nervously, she saw the surprised looks on both boys faces and she glared with a grin, "What? You think I don't do research… sometimes a Slayer has to. It could be some kind of demon? I mean, something that controls water-"

Dean held up a hand and Buffy stopped what she was saying and saw the look on his face like a light bulb went off in his head, Buffy saw the same expression come onto Sam's face also

"Water that comes from the same source." Dean piped up.

"The lake." Sam said exchanging looks with Dean and Dean nodded. "It would explain why it's upping the body count. The lake is draining. It'll be dry in a few months. Whatever this thing is, whatever it wants, it's running out of time." Sam added.

Dean nodded again, "And if it can get through the pipes, it can get to anyone, almost anywhere. This is gonna happen again soon." Dean finished getting up off the bed and sitting in the chair opposite Sam.

"And we do know one other thing for sure. We know this has got something to do with Bill Carlton."

"Yeah, it took both his kids." Dean said as he started putting his boots back on.

"And I've been asking around. Lucas' dad, Chris — Bill Carlton's godson."

All three looked at each other, "I think it's time to pay Mr. Carlton a visit." Buffy suggested.

---

Again Buffy sat inside the car waiting for Sam and Dean to do whatever it was they do.

"I swear, the day where there's nothing needing killing. I'm getting my fake I.D's" She mumbled to herself as she flicked through the magazine she was reading, occasionally she would look out the window to see if they were coming.

For about thirty minutes, every time Buffy looked out the window she couldn't see them anywhere so she gave up looking out. Whilst she was reading an article on the myth of resurrection Buffy couldn't help laugh, _Ironic huh? _When her thoughts shifted from the article to earlier in the motel; her telling Dean whatever he asked her. That's the first she's ever been honest – yes the answers wasn't something she hadn't said before but it was the first time she'd told anyone straight away and a small smile played at her lips when she thought of when he put his hand over hers but she instantly shook her head.

"No Buffy!" She growled at herself, "Don't" she warned herself.

Thankfully she saw Sam nearing the car with Dean following behind and she sighed in relief that she didn't have to think about _that_ anymore but her relief was cut short when they stopped outside the house across from her and the pair held their back to her. Being nosey getting the better of her Buffy got out the car and headed to them; she saw them both staring between the house and a drawing in Dean's hand, the drawing Lucas gave him a few hours ago.

"What's going on?" Buffy asked as she stopped beside them.

Dean looked over at Buffy, "It's time to pay your new best friend a visit." He said putting the drawing back into the inside pocket of his jacket.

Buffy looked at the pair as they headed back to the Impala, Buffy was about to ask them what they were up to but thought better of it and just puffed out the breath she was holding and just followed them and got back inside the car.

"Just to be clear guys, do you even know where Andrea lives?" Buffy asked before her legs even entered the car.

Sam and Dean exchanged looks and both started to talk before failing until Sam sighed. "No"

Dean turned to see Buffy and smiled, "But we do know that her father's a cop so Sammy here can check the police database and pull up his info and get his address."

Buffy thought for a moment and nodded, "Okay, good plan" before sitting back and let the pair do what they do best: Hack into federal databases to find addresses. Well that's what Sam was good at; Dean just sat waiting flipping though his cassette collection while Sam found the address on his laptop.

"Seriously Dean. Cassette tapes? Do you even know you're living in the Twenty-First Century? Nobody has cassette tapes anymore" she said with a smile playing at her lips.

Dean shifted his body so he could see Buffy behind him and glared, but wore a half smile so she knew he wasn't serious, "You know, you're starting to sound like Sammy?"

"That's because _Sam_ has good taste" Buffy grinned and arched an eyebrow.

Dean playfully shook his head, "Nah. It's because _Sammy's _reallya girl"

"I got the address" Sam said, choosing to ignore Dean's comment.

Dean smiled proudly and turned his body back to face the front and started the car, listening to the directions Sam was giving him.

---

As Andrea's father lived on the opposite side of the lake it didn't take them long to get there. When they parked outside the large white house it was silent both inside and out and before she'd even got out the car Buffy had a bad feeling.

"What are we going to say to Andrea?" Buffy asked as she got out the car.

Dean shrugged as he locked the car, "I didn't really think this far ahead…" he admitted.

"Tell her the truth?" Sam added as he caught up with Buffy and Dean and started up the steps.

"Oh yeah we just waltz up there and say _'Hey Andrea I need to borrow your son cause I think he's connected to the demon killing your family and friends'_" Dean laughed as they got to the top and he knocked on the door.

Buffy shrugged, "Could work" ignoring Dean's look she gave a quick grin to Sam before the door in front of her opened.

Andrea answered the door, her smile faded when she saw the three of them standing on the porch.

"My father's not home" She said directly to Dean, "Hey Buffy" she graced Buffy a smile to which Buffy returned with a small wave.

"It's not your father we came here to see" Dean told her.

Andrea sighed and leant on the doorframe, crossing her arms she looked at Dean, "Look, my husband died and I have a son to take care of. I'm not interested in-"

"We're here to see Lucas" Dean cut her off.

Andrea's eyes widened, "Lucas? Why?"

Dean hesitated for a moment and glanced at his brother before looking back at Andrea, "We think he may know something. About what's happening out on the lake."

Andrea stood up straight and held onto the door, "I'm sorry, but I don't think it's a good idea." She said before starting to close the door.

Dean grabbed the door and pushed it a little till Andrea looked around at him, "I just need to talk to him, just for a few minutes."

Andrea sighed again and let go of the door, "He won't say anything, what good's it gonna do?"

Buffy stepped beside Dean, "Andrea, we think more people might get hurt. We think something's happening out there."

"My husband, the others—they just drowned. That's all." Andrea said defensively.

"If that's what you really believe then we'll go." Dean shrugged and then looked Andrea square in the eyes, "But if you think there's even a possibility that something else could be going on here, please let me talk to your son."

Andrea looked from Dean to Buffy to Sam and back again for a few seconds before giving in and moving out the way and let them inside.

"He's in his room, straight upstairs to your right"

All of them, including Andrea, headed to Lucas's bedroom but Dean was the only one who entered the room. He walked in slowly and gently sat down beside the boy drawing frantically.

"Hey Lucas. You remember me?" A quick glance at the drawings Dean spotted a couple of a red bicycle, "You know, I, uh…I wanted to thank you for that last drawing…but the thing is, I need your help again." Dean pulled out the drawing from his jacket, opened it and set it down in front of Lucas to which he stopped drawing for a second then carried on, "How did you know to draw this? Did you know something bad was gonna happen?" He waited a few seconds for a reply but when he got none he sighed, "Maybe you could nod yes or no for me. You're scared, it's okay, I understand. See, when I was your age, I saw something real bad happen to my mom, and I was scared, too. I didn't feel like talking, just like you. But see, my mom—I know she wanted me to be brave. I think about that every day. And I do my best to be brave. And maybe…your dad wants you to be brave, too." He stopped talking when Lucas dropped his crayon and handed him a picture of a church beside a house and a boy on a red bicycle, "Thanks, Lucas." He said before getting back up and heading back to his brother and the two girls.

He folded the drawing and put it inside his jacket pocket then looked at Sam and Buffy.

"Let's go"

---

All three of them drove around the streets of Blue Water Ridge in search of any houses that resembled the picture Lucas drew. About half an hour had passed and neither of them had spoken until Buffy broke the silence. "Andrea said the kid never drew like that till his dad died."

After a thought Sam went from looking out the window to at Buffy through the rearview mirror and nodded slightly, "There are cases going through a traumatic experience could make people more sensitive to premonitions, psychic tendencies."

Buffy sat forward and turned her face to Sam, "Whatever's out there, what if Lucas is tapping into it somehow?"

"I mean it's only a matter of time before somebody else drowns. If you got a better lead, please." Dean added.

Sighing Sam looked back out the window, "All right…we got another house to find."

"The only problem is there are about a thousand yellow two-stories in this county alone." Dean added being a pain and reminding them that they were going to be out for a while.

Buffy looked at the picture that Dean sat on the dashboard and pointed at part of the picture, "What about this church? I bet there are less than a thousand of those around here." She added triumphantly with a small smile.

Dean half smiled, "Oh, Super Girl thinks she's so smart." He sang in a silly voice that made both Buffy and Sam raise an eyebrow and Buffy just let out a laugh and lightly slapped him on the arm. Well, to Buffy it was a light slap but it was hard enough for Dean to swerve a little at the impact, making him curse at her under his breath, and when he regained control of the wheel he rubbed at the spot she smacked. "Jesus Christ Buffy!" He whined as he rubbed his arm and glared at her through the mirror.

Buffy just smiled innocently, "What? I only tapped you… It's not my fault you're a weakling" her smile became smaller and cheekier at the end.

Dean just rolled his eyes, "Well, If _that_ was a tap then I'd hate to get a real punch from you." He replied, deciding to ignore the weakling comment with great difficulty.

They all fell silent after that, a comfortable silence not an awkward one like they usually were, so when Sam spoke up it made Buffy jump a little in her seat.

"You know, um…what you said about mom…you never told me that before." He said softly.

Buffy saw Dean raise his shoulders in a shrug, "It's no big deal…Oh God, we're not gonna have to hug or anything, are we?" He asked seriously looking over at his brother who just laughed and punched him lightly just underneath where Buffy had slapped him.

"See _that_ was a tap!" Dean called to Buffy after a minute and the entire car was filled with Buffy and Sam's laughing with Dean driving with a bewildered, yet amused, expression on his face.

After a few minutes of laughing Buffy started to feel a tingle on the back of her neck and she stopped laughing and looked out the window and ordered Dean to slow down.

"What is it?" Sam asked seriously, all the previous humor gone.

Buffy searched out the window as Dean drove a little slower through the suburban street and she shook her head, "I don't know. I… felt something… It means we're close."

"Wait. You _felt_ something?" Dean asked looking at her through the mirror.

Buffy nodded, "Yeah I get it every now and again. It means we're on the right path. It's a Slayer thing. Like a spider sense"

"Like Spiderman?" Dean deadpanned.

Buffy continued to stare out the window, "Not really I just call it my spider sense cause it's easier to say but I get a feeling sometimes and usually I'm heading the right way. It comes in handy because I sense demons and such when I'm patrolling. "

Dean just shook his head with a half shocked smile, "Ha, just when I think I've figured you out…" he trailed off.

Buffy sat straighter and smacked her hand on Dean's seat, "Stop!"

He did. Very quickly. Buffy pointed out her window, "There."

Without any hesitation Dean grabbed the picture from the dashboard and got out the car. Buffy was already out the car as was Sam. Taking one look at the church in front of them Dean held up the picture which was almost exactly the same, when he put the picture down they all looked to their left and spotted the yellow house and taking one look at each other they headed to the house.  
An older woman must have spotted them coming up the porch because the door opened just as they reached it.

"Can I help you?" she asked wearily.

Dean stopped walking when he reached the older lady, "We're sorry to bother you ma'am, but does a little boy live here, by chance? He might wear a blue ball cap, has a red bicycle."

The woman looked at Dean with both shock and a little confused, she opened the door wider so they could enter the house and they followed her in as she spoke, "No sir. Not for a very long time. Peter's been gone for 35 years now. The police never—I never had any idea what happened. He just disappeared. Losing him-" Tapping Dean on the arm when they stopped in the living room Sam pointed his attention to the bunch of toy soldiers set out on the table. "You know, it's…It's worse than dying." The woman finished sadly.

Buffy stepped forward a step, "Did he disappear from here—I mean, from this house?"

The woman stared at nothing, like she was in a trance, as shook her head, "He was supposed to ride his bike straight home after school, and he never showed up."

During her talk Dean had spotted something else on the table and he picked it up, a picture of two small boys and turning the picture around he read the back, "Peter Sweeney and Billy Carlton, 1970." He said looking at both Buffy and Sam.

Sam turned to the lady and smiled slightly, "Thank you for your time"

The woman was still in her own little trance so she didn't say anything as they left her house.

When they got in the car Dean spoke up, "Okay, one: that spider sense of yours is awesome and two: what the hell is going on?"

Sam let out a breath, "Okay this little boy, Peter Sweeney, vanishes, and this is all connected to Bill Carlton somehow."

Dean nodded as he started the car, "Yeah, Bill sure as hell seems to be hiding something, huh?"

"And Bill—the people he loves—Are all getting punished." Buffy added.

Dean eyed his brother, "So what if Bill did something to Peter?"

"What if Bill killed him?" Sam replied.

"Then Peter's spirit would be furious. It'd want revenge. It's possible." Dean answered.

Buffy again felt the same feeling but this time it was in her gut rather than her neck, "We better talk to Mr. Carlton before anything else happens." And by the feeling in her gut Buffy knew something was going to happen. Oh how she hated this feeling.

---

Dean sped his way back to the Carlton's house, going much faster than usual which was pretty fast normally, and they reached the house in minutes.

"Mister Carlton!?" Sam yelled as they all got out the car.

Buffy and Dean also yelled for Mr. Carlton for a few minutes as they searched outside the house and peered inside the house windows. A few seconds had passed when Buffy suddenly stopped in her tracks and held out her finger to signal them to stop yelling. When they did there was a faint sound of a rumbling engine and turning around to face the lake they saw Bill Carlton heading into the middle of the lake on a small wooden boat.

Running to the dock Buffy yelled his name but he didn't respond to her, Sam and Dean ran to the dock also and started yelling themselves, "Mister Carlton! You need to come back! Come out of the water! Turn the boat around!" Dean yelled but Bill Carlton didn't listen.

Then suddenly out of the blue the water rose up, like a tidal wave, and flipped the wooden boat upside down.

"Mister Carlton!" Buffy screamed and ran closer to the dock, ready to jump in and save him and she almost did until something snaked around her waist and pull her back and she fell onto the dock, her landing was padded as she fell back on someone.

"Jesus!" Buffy yelled as she squirmed her way around and saw Dean lying on the dock coughing, "What the hell Dean? Why did you just throw me to the ground?" she yelled as she got to her feet, hands on her hips.

Dean shakily got up and coughed a little more, "I was stopping you from going in that lake and killing yourself that's what I was doing"

Buffy growled under her breath and glared, "I can look after myself" she said through gritted teeth.

Dean glared, "Yeah well you wouldn't be saying that if you were fish food would you"

Sam coughed loudly to get their attention, "I think we should call Andrea's dad, let him know what's just happened to Bill Carlton."

Buffy sighed, "Yeah, that's a good idea. I'll wait in the car." Buffy brushed past Dean and headed toward the Impala not even knowing why she was so angry. She herself knew that jumping in that lake could have killed her so why was she so annoyed that Dean stopped her?

"Jesus, what the hell got into her?" Dean started as they headed up toward the Carlton house, "One second she was fine then the next it was like something shoved a stick up her ass!" Dean was telling Sam, "I mean if that's the thanks I get for saving her ass then forget it, she can go ahead and drown next time."

Sam just laughed under his breath, shaking his head, and called the cops on his cell phone.

---

Thirty minutes later Dean, Buffy and Sam followed Jake, Andrea's father, into the police station. Coming into his office Buffy was surprised to see Andrea and Lucas sat inside.

Andrea smiled with surprise, "Buffy, Sam, Dean, I didn't expect to see you here."

Jake looked a little peeved off, "So now you're on a first-name basis." He said to Dean, who just shrugged, and then he looked to Andrea, "What are you doing here?"

Andrea handed over a paper bag to her father, "I brought you dinner."

Taking the bag reluctantly Jake gave her a weary look, "I'm sorry sweetheart; I don't really have the time."

"I heard about Bill Carlton, is it true?" Andrea started to her father then she turned her attention to Buffy, "Is something going on with the lake?"

Buffy started to say something when Jake spoke up, "Right now we don't know what the truth is. But I think it might be better if you and Lucas went on home."

At the sound of this Lucas started whimpering and he took hold of Dean's arm.

"Lucas, hey, what is it?" Dean asked soothingly but Lucas still held onto the sleeve of his leather jacket. "Lucas." Dean and Andrea both started but still he said nothing, "Lucas, its okay. It's okay." Dean said after a while.

Andrea, with a very pained expression on her face, managed to get Lucas off Dean's jacket and she led him outside.

"Okay," Jake said to get everyone's attention from Lucas to him, "just so I'm clear, you see…something attack Bill's boat, sending Bill, who is a very good swimmer, by the way, into the drink, and you never see him again?" he asked skeptically as he sat down in his seat.

Dean nodded and sat in a chair opposite Jake's, "Yeah, that about sums it up."

Jake raised an eyebrow and looked from Dean to Sam to Buffy and back to Dean, "And I'm supposed to believe this, even though I've already sonar-swept that entire lake and what you're describing is impossible, and you're not really Wildlife Service?" Seeing the shock on Sam and Dean's face Jake smirks, "That's right, I checked. The department's never heard of you two."

Dean smiled uncomfortably, "See, now we can explain that." He laughed nervously.

Jake got out of his seat and sat on the edge of the desk, "Enough please. The only reason you're breathing free air, is one of Bill's neighbors saw him steering out that boat just before you did. So we have a couple of options here. I can arrest you for impersonating government officials and hold you as material witnesses to Bill Carlton's disappearance. Or we can chalk this all up to a bad day, you three get into your car, you put this town in your rearview mirror, and you don't ever darken my doorstep again." When he finished he looked around at the three in front of him.

"Door number two sounds good." Sam said nervously.

Jake looked up at Sam and nodded, "That's the one I'd pick."

"We should go…" Buffy said in a quiet voice.

Jake nodded at Buffy too, "That's a good idea."

Buffy opened the door to Jake's office and the three of them headed to the car quicker than they have in a long time. Buffy had never been threatened with prison in a long time; she forgot how scary it was.

As soon as they left the police station they went straight to the motel and got their stuff together and were now heading out of Lake Manitoc.

"Can you believe that guy? What a jerk! He had no right to threaten us like that! Well… he had the right to threaten you two but not me! If I didn't have the rule of me not using my super strong ass kicking skills on humans I so would have kicked his ass!" Buffy huffed in the back seat as Dean was almost headed for the freeway when he suddenly stopped which Buffy assumed was a red light.

"No you wouldn't and you know it" Sam laughed and looked over at her.

Buffy said nothing, instead she stuck out her tongue to which Sam laughed for a second then tapped Dean on the arm, "Green."

Dean looked at Sam "What?"

"Light's green."

Dean turned left on the freeway, "Uh, the interstate's the other way." Sam pointed out.

"I know."

"You think it's gonna attack again?" Buffy asked because she'd had the same feeling since she left the police station.

"But Dean, this job--I think it's over." Sam interrupted.

"I'm not so sure." Dean sighed.

"If Bill murdered Peter Sweeney and Peter's spirit got its revenge, case closed. The spirit should be at rest." Sam stated like Dean had just forgotten what had happened earlier that day.

"All right, so what if we take off and this thing isn't done. You know, what if we missed something? What if more people get hurt?"

"Why would you think that?" Buffy asked.

Dean hesitated for a moment, "Because Lucas was really scared."

Sam fought back a laugh, "That's what this is about?"

"I just don't want to leave town till I know the kid's okay." Dean protested.

"Who are you, and what have you done with my brother?" Sam laughed.

"Shut up." Dean growled. Buffy giggled and Dean growled again.

---

Arriving at Andrea's house Buffy felt nausea's and knew that was a bad sign. "Are you sure about this? It's pretty late man." Sam said as he followed Dean up the steps, followed by Buffy. Just as Dean put his finger on the doorbell the door swung open, Lucas was stood in the hallway panting then ran back into the house.

"Lucas!? Lucas?!" Dean yelled as he and the others followed Lucas up the stairs and into the flooded hallway, Lucas was pounding on the door and Buffy's bad feeling was getting worse. "Lucas!" Dean yelled again and picked him up and put him away from the door and he latched onto Sam. Buffy and Dean both kicked down the bathroom door and saw nothing… you couldn't see Andrea through the murky water. Lucas clung onto Dean so Sam ran into the bathroom, almost slipping on the tiles, and stuck his arms inside the murky water and groaned as he tried to pull Andrea out the tub.

"Dean. I can't… It's too strong!" Sam yelled as he still tried to pull Andrea out the tub.

Buffy slid past Dean and into the bathroom, "Move stretch..."

"What? No!"

"Sam, let me help her." Sam pulled his arms out the tub and Buffy put in hers, after a couple of groans Andrea's head emerged, gasping, from the bathtub. Whatever it was that was holding her down was putting up a fight as it kept shoving her face back in the water but Buffy didn't give up, this was exactly the time her strength came in handy and after a few more pulls and groans Andrea finally came completely out the bathtub. As soon as Andrea emerged Sam helped Buffy get her out the bath and she fell on him, and he slipped and fell to the floor. Andrea lay on Sam coughing up the remaining water. Buffy stood over her and Sam.

"See, this is why you two need my help." She panted.

---

"Can you tell me?" Sam asked Andrea when things had finally settled. Lucas went back to bed, Andrea got changed and calmed down a bit and her, and Buffy and Sam were sat at the dining table while Dean went through a few photo albums on the bookshelves.

Andrea shook her head, "No. It doesn't make any sense. I'm going crazy." Tears falling down her face.

Buffy put an arm on her shoulder and shook her head, "No, you're not. Tell us what happened—everything."

They waited for what felt like forever, occasionally Andrea would look to Buffy and she would give her a reassuring smile. "I heard…" Andrea said so quietly Buffy thought she imagined it, "I thought I heard…there was this voice."

"What did it say?" Sam asked.

Andrea looked down at her hands, "It said…" she then looked up at Sam, "it said "Come play with me." What's happening?"

"Andrea, do you recognize the kids in these pictures?" Dean placed what looked like a scrapbook that said 'Jake – 12 years old' on the front, Dean flipped through the pages till he found what he searched for and left the page open of pictures of a Boy Scout troop.

"What? Um…Um, no." Andrea shook her head then shrugged. "I mean, except that's my dad right there. He must have been about 12 in these pictures."

Following Andrea's finger as she scanned each photo it stopped on a picture of her father as a child standing with Peter Sweeney. Buffy looked straight to Dean who raised his brows in conformation that he saw it too.

"Chris Bar's drowning--The connection wasn't to Bill Carlton. It must have been to sheriff." Dean said exactly what Buffy was just thinking.

"Bill and the sheriff—they were both involved with Peter." Sam added which Dean and Buffy nodded.

Andrea looked between the three, "What about Chris? My dad—what are you talking about?"

Dean was about to reply when he spotted Lucas staring out the window, "Lucas? Lucas, what is it?"

Lucas ignored him and opened the door and headed outside, to which everyone followed him.

"Lucas, honey?" Andrea called a little fear etched into her voice.

Lucas stopped a few yards from the house and looked from the ground to Dean.

Dean looked at Buffy, "You take Andrea and Lucas and get back to the house and stay there, okay?" Buffy nodded and took Andrea and Lucas back inside the house.

Sam ran to the front of the house and got 2 shovels out of the Impala and he and Dean dug up the spot Lucas led them too. The dug until there was a metallic thud, sharing a knowing look they got on their knees and dug the object out with their hands, they pulled out a red bicycle.

"Peter's bike." Sam confirmed.

"Who are you?"

Dean and Sam turned around and saw Jake standing with his gun aiming at them. Instantaneous Sam and Dean raised their hands. "Put the gun down, Jake." Sam said.

"How did you know that was there?" Jake asked hysterically.

Dean walked a little closer to Jake, "What happened—you and Bill killed Peter, drowned him in the lake and then buried the bike? You can't bury the truth, Jake. Nothing stays buried."

---

Buffy and Andrea stood in the kitchen; Andrea was making sure Lucas was occupied while Buffy watched the boys dig.

"So, what do we do now?" Andrea asked when Lucas was occupied.

Buffy looked away from the window and shrugged, "I don't know, see if they find anything then…" Looking back out the window Buffy saw Jake pointing a gun at Sam and Dean. Turning to Andrea she placed both hands on her arms. "Stay here. Don't come out."

Andrea nodded and Buffy left. Andrea watched Buffy run up to Sam and Dean then she spotted her father pointing his gun. Andrea turned to Lucas, "Go to your room, sweetie. Now. Lock the door and wait for me. Don't come out." When Lucas ran to his bedroom Andrea ran out the door.

---

Dean spotted Buffy sneaking up behind Jake and he rolled his eyes mentally yelling at her for coming out the house.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about." Jake yelled.

"You and Bill killed Peter Sweeney 35 years ago. That's what the hell I'm talking about." Dean yelled back.

"Dad!" they all heard Andrea scream as she ran up the hill.

"And now you got one seriously pissed off spirit." Dean finished his sentence.

"It's gonna take Andrea, Lucas, everyone you love. It's gonna drown them. And it's gonna drag their bodies God knows where, so you can feel the same pain Peter's mom felt. And then, after that, it's gonna take you, and it's not gonna stop until it does." Sam also added.

Jake twitched a little, "Yeah and how do you know that?"

"Because that's exactly what it did to Bill Carlton." Sam stated.

Jake's eyes widened, "Listen to yourselves, both of you. You're insane!"

Dean stopped raising his hands and walked closer to Jake, "I don't really give a rat's ass what you think of us. But if we're gonna bring down this spirit, we need to find the remains, salt them, and burn them into dust. Now tell me you buried Peter somewhere. Tell me you didn't just let him go in the lake".

Buffy didn't know why she was just standing there. Normally she would have had that gun out of his hands by now but something had frozen her to the spot but she didn't realize until she heard a voice, 'Come play with me' and felt the tingle on the back of her neck.

"Dad is any of this true?" when Andrea spoke Buffy came back into focus of what was happening around her.

"No. Don't listen to them, they're liars and they're dangerous." Jake said almost pleadingly.

Andrea went closer to her father, "Something tried to drown me. Chris died on that lake. Dad, look at me. Tell me you—you didn't kill anyone." When her father looked away from her Andrea gasped, "Oh my God."

"Billy and I were at the lake. Peter was the smallest one. We always bullied him, but this time…it got rough. We were holding his head under the water, we didn't mean to. But we held him under too long and he drowned. We let the body go, and it sank. Oh Andrea, we were kids. We were so scared. It was a mistake. But, Andrea, to say that I have anything to do with these three drowning's, with Chris, because of some ghost…it's not rational." Jake said choking back tears.

"All right listen to me, all of you. We need to get you away from this lake as far as we can right now.-"

Dean was cut off when Andrea screamed and pointed toward the dock. Lucas was kneeling on the edge.

" Lucas!" Jake yelled as they all ran down to the lake.

"Lucas! Baby stay where you are!"Andrea begged as she ran.

As Buffy was faster than them she reached the dock faster but she was still too late, she got there just as it started to pull Lucas into the water. Buffy grabbed hold of Lucas's leg but the spirit was much stronger than when it was in the bathtub. The spirit also pulled Buffy into the water, not before her smacking her head of the edge of the dock as she hit the water.

---

Dean was second to reach the edge and didn't hesitate and dove into the water. Andrea and Sam both stopped when they reached the dock.

"Oh my God!" Andrea was screaming and started to take off her jacket

Sam put a hand on her shoulder, "Andrea, stay there."

"No, Lucas!"

"We'll get him just stay on the dock." Before she could argue again Sam dove into the lake.

After a few minutes Dean came up for air and Sam came up afterward.

"Sam? You find him?" Dean gasped.

"Lucas where are you." Andrea cried.

"Peter, if you can hear me. Please Peter, I'm sorry. I'm so—I'm so sorry." Everyone turned to the side of the lake where Jake was wading through the water.

Andrea screamed. "Daddy, no!"

"Peter, Lucas—He's just a little boy. Please, it's not his fault, it's mine. Please take me." Jake cried as he headed further into the lake.

"Jake, no!" Dean screamed.

"Just let it be over!" Jake screamed and seconds later he was pulled under the lake.

"Daddy! Daddy! No!" Andrea cried and collapsed on the dock.

Dean dived back down into the water followed by Sam. Sam surfaced minutes later shaking his head to Andrea who then started screaming. However Dean soon came up for air with Lucas. Andrea stopped crying of sadness and instead of happiness and took Lucas from Dean and laid him on the dock. Dean got out and resuscitated him till Lucas coughed up the water in his lungs.

"Bu…Bu…" Lucas coughed and gasped and passed out unable to finish.

"Bu?" Dean looked to Sam, who was still in the water, "What's Bu?"

Sam thought and floated for a minute, "Buffy!" he yelled and headed back under water to find her.

---

Buffy woke in her bed in the motel wrapped in a robe with her damp clothes underneath. The last thing she remembered was grabbing Lucas, she had no idea how long she'd been out of it. However long it was it felt like she swallowed fire, her throat was scratchy and dry. She shakily got to her feet and went into the bathroom, took a shower and took a long glass of water after she brushed her teeth but it didn't help the burning in her throat. When she came out the bathroom Dean was putting his things on the table and Sam just sat on the edge of one of the beds.

"Hey, you're awake," Dean said when he spotted her, "took you long enough, you've been out of it for hours."

"How you feeling?" Sam asked.

Buffy cleared her throat and winced, "My throat…" her voice was scratchy "…it hurts."

"That's because of all the water you had to cough up." Dean stated and sat on the dining chair.

Buffy just looked at Dean like he was talking in a different language, "You don't remember falling in the lake?"

Buffy shook her head, "I-I remember running on the dock and grabbing hold of Lucas… Is he okay?"

Dean nodded. "He's fine." Sam said.

"So I… I drowned?" Sam nodded, "Again? Man I gotta stop going near water." Buffy said to herself as she headed to her wardrobe.

"What… You know I'm not even going to ask" Dean mumbled.

"Yeah you're lucky, we didn't think you were going to make it but... finally you did" Sam said.

Buffy pulled out a red sweater and black corduroys. "Oh pack your stuff up; we'll be leaving in a few." Dean said as Buffy got dressed via in her robe. Naturally Sam looked away at all times but Dean however made it look like he was looking away but occasionally glanced over at her as she changed clothes.

---

Once Buffy packed everything up they all checked out and took their stuff to the car, Buffy – as she was the strongest out of them – carried 2 trips worth of duffel bags all at once and loaded them into the trunk of the Impala. When she locked the trunk she saw Sam and Dean standing with Andrea and Lucas.

"Hey Buffy" Andrea smiled when Buffy came and stood beside Sam.

"Hey"

"We're glad we caught you. We just um, we made you lunch for the road," Buffy saw Lucas holding a tray full of sandwiches and other snacks wrapped up, " Lucas insisted on making the sandwiches himself." She smiled.

Lucas looked up at Andrea, "Can I give it to them now?" he asked and Buffy couldn't help but smile.

"Come on Lucas; let's load this into the car." Dean said, taking the tray from Lucas and leading him to the Impala.

"How are you feeling Buffy? I know you took quite a bump and drank a lot of water." Andrea asked.

Buffy nodded, "I'm doing good. I won't be drinking much water for a while but I'm good thanks."

"How you holding up?" Sam turned it onto Andrea.

"It's just gonna take a long time to sort through everything, you know?" Andrea sighed.

"Andrea, I'm sorry." Sam said.

Andrea smiled, "You saved my son. I can't ask for more than that. Dad loved me. He loved Lucas. No matter what he did, I just have to hold on to that…. I should let you guys go." Andrea said and headed for Lucas.

Dean stood up off the seat of the car, "You take care of your mom, okay?" Dean said as Andrea Buffy and Sam got to the car.

Lucas nodded, "All right."

Andrea leant over the open car door and kissed Dean. "Thank you."

Dean thought for a moment, Buffy and Sam both exchanged looks and smirks that grew the longer Dean thought on the kiss, after a while Dean scratched at his head and headed towards the driver's side of the car. "Guy's move your asses. We're gonna run out of daylight before we hit the road."

Buffy and Sam both laughed as they headed to their own sides. "See you Andrea. Call me if you need anything." Buffy smiled at Andrea and waved to Lucas as she got in the car and Dean pulled out the parking lot.

Buffy turned in her seat to wave at Andrea and Lucas one last time. "So where we headed?" Buffy asked as Dean turned on the stereo.

"I don't know" Dean stated, "but… how about we get you some I.D's"

Buffy leaned forward in her seat and looked at Dean with a large smile, "Seriously?"

Dean laughed, "Yeah… You earned them."

Buffy smiled again before sitting back in her seat; resting her head on the door her eyes drifted closed and realized that maybe this life isn't as bad as she thought it would be.

* * *

Okay so that was "Dead In The Water" I hope you guys enjoyed it. Let me know on what you thought, and any improvements I need. Stay tuned cause next its Bloody Mary.


	4. Bloody Mary

Wow I finished this one fast. Days even. Bloody Mary is one of my favorite Supernatural episodes so I think it was easier for me to write than the other two... it's getting to all the good Supernatural episodes now so I think they will be coming more frequent now. Thanks for all those who have reviewed for the last chapter and I hope I get more this time round.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Eric Kripke owns Supernatural and it's scripts and Joss Wheedon owns Buffy. This was made for fun.

I used the TwizTv script for Supernatural Season 1, Episode 4 "Bloody Mary"

* * *

Buffy knew the Winchester brother's were looking for their father and along the way they would hunt down anything supernatural to help save lives but what she didn't know was that they hardly had a break from it, maybe two possibly three days they would just hang out until something that sounded supernatural came along. During the days they had nothing to do Buffy saw different sides to the Winchester's, well Sam wasn't attached to his laptop nearly as much and occasionally gave into Dean's influence – who was also going out a lot more than usual and bringing girls back to the motel; thankfully Buffy managed to persuade them to let her get a room of her own so now she didn't have to worry about walking in on him during one of his escapades.

They did find another case that involved a demon of some kind taking down planes so Buffy decided not to get involved in that one and let Sam and Dean so what they did best. When they got back Dean looked like he aged years, later she was told by Sam that Dean had a fear of planes and the one they were on nearly crashed which Buffy found hilarious and Dean vowed his revenge on her. After the case involving the plane they didn't find another case worth per suing for a few more days so it gave them enough time to get Buffy a box load of fake I.D's, Passports, Health Insurance Cards, and anything else she would have needed. Dean, thinking he was funny and getting his revenge on her, occasionally put what he thought were funny names like 'Bunny' or 'Britney' on a few of the I.D's which she didn't find very amusing – which only made Dean think it even funnier.

Not so long after she finally had her I.D's did Sam found something that sounded worth investigating and they were now driving hundreds of miles. Buffy still wasn't a fan of long driving journeys, she assumed it was because she was used to walking or running everywhere. So sitting in the back of a car for an hour on end wasn't what she thought was relaxing or entertaining.

Dean, as usual, was driving and Sam was sat in the passenger seat asleep. Buffy leant closer to Dean's seat and poked him in the shoulder. "Why don't I ever get to ride up front?"

Dean quickly glanced over his shoulder and laughed lightly when he saw her face hidden behind large sunglasses. "Because..." was all he said as he parked outside a hospital.

Buffy raised an eyebrow and moved the sunglasses from her face and onto her head. "Well wouldn't it make more sense for Lanky here to sleep in the back where he can stretch out?"

It was as if Sam was listening in as not even seconds after she said it did Sam start crying out "Jessica!" over and over.

Buffy gently put a hand on Sam's shoulder and gave him a little shove, "Sam, wake up."

Sam instantly jumped and opened his eyes; looking around a little sheepish he saw concern on Buffy and Dean's face. "I take it I was having a nightmare."

Buffy nodded, "Yeah another one." She'd heard him a couple of times screaming out his girlfriends name, it was getting more and more frequent.

Sam sighed and rubbed his temple, "Hey, at least I got some sleep." He tried to joke but nobody found it funny.

"You know, sooner or later we're gonna have to talk about this." Dean said using his 'big brother' voice.

Ignoring him Sam looked out the window behind Buffy, "Are we here?"

"Yup, welcome to Toledo, Ohio." Dean said without enthusiasm.

Picking up the paper on the dashboard Sam examined the article; Buffy hovered over Sam's shoulder and also read the article: An obituary for a man called 'Shoemaker, Steven'. Buffy wasn't sure what had happened to the man, she usually let Sam and Dean do that stuff and she just kicks ass when she needed too. "So what do you think really happened to him?" she asked anyone of the two who would answer.

Dean stopped the car outside a hospital. "That's what we're gonna find out. Let's go."

Getting out the car Dean shut Buffy's door keeping her inside the car, "Not you"

Buffy glared at him, "Why not? I have I.D's now so you can't use that excuse."

Dean sighed, "Because it's gonna look shady if three people go inside."

"Then let Sam stay here. He looks like he could do with another rest. He looks like crap."

Sam laughed, "Thanks"

Buffy sighed and got out the car, "I dont mean it like that." Shutting the door behind her, a little too strong as the car rocked slightly for a few seconds, she turned to Dean, "Look, Sam needs rest; even I know he's not sleeping well so why dont he sleep in the car and I come with you and see what you guys do best."

After looking from Sam to Buffy for a few minutes Dean sighed, "You okay to stay out here for a while?" He asked Sam.

Sam nodded, "Yeah, she's right. I could do with a nap." Sam smiled at Buffy, "Go on, you need to see us in action anyway."

Buffy smiled and clapped, "Alright!" She hugged Sam then slapped Dean on the arm that almost toppled him over, "C'mon Action Man." She didn't wait for him to regain himself as she headed to the hospital entrance.

Dean rubbed the arm Buffy slapped and he glared at Sam, who was wetting himself with laughter, "Shut up."

Sam stifled back another laugh, "I don't think she means to hurt you. It's her way of affection."

"Well if she keeps it up I'm gonna lock her in that morgue and leave her to freeze to death" Dean growled as he started to head to the hospital.

"On the plus side you have a new nickname!" Sam called and started whooping and laughing as he got inside the car.

Dean shook his head and growled, "Bloody Action Man... I'll show her Action Man!" he grumbled as he met up with her inside the hospital.

"What took you so long?" Buffy asked with an amused grin on her face.

Dean just stopped in front of her, "The morgue's this way." He said deliberately ignoring her question. When they got to the morgue there were two desks but only one person. Dean looked at the name on the empty desk as he walked over to the morgue technician sat at his desk. He was dressed all in blue scrubs, bald, and looked completely bored.

"Hey, can I help you?" The morgue technician asked.

Dean nodded, "Hey. Yeah. We're the uh...med students."

The morgue technician looked from Dean to Buffy, taking his time looking Buffy up and down as he spoke, "Sorry?"

Buffy didn't look like a med student: dressed in a lilac skirt that stopped under her knee, a lilac spaghetti strap top and cork wedges with lilac straps, complete with her white sunglasses on her head. She may not have looked like a med student but Buffy was good at lying.

"Oh Doctor..." Dean took a quick glance at the name on the empty desk again, "Figlavitch didn't tell you? We talked to him on the phone. We uh…We're from Ohio State. He's supposed to show us the Shoemaker corpse. It's for our paper." Dean explained with an unusually pleasant grin. _If I didn't know him, I'd think it was genuine!_ Buffy thought when she saw the grin.

The morgue technician was still eyeing up Buffy as he spoke, "Well I'm sorry, he's at lunch."

Dean and Buffy looked at each other, signalling that they both knew he was checking her out.

"Oh well he said uh…Oh well, you know, it doesn't matter. You don't mind showing us the body do you?" Dean asked, deliberately waving a hand in front of Buffy to get his attention.

The morgue technician seemed to have come out of his trance and shook his head, "Sorry, I can't. Doc will be back in an hour, you can wait for him if you want." He said to Dean in a slimy tone.

"An hour? Ooh. We gotta be heading back to Columbus by then." Dean looked over at Buffy and she nodded, "Yeah." Was all she said with a smile.

The morgue technician still wasn't buying it. "Uh look man, this paper's like half hour grade, so if you don't mind helping us out."

"Oh look man, no." The technician said with a large smile.

Dean turned around and sighed, "I'm gonna hit him in his face I swear."

Buffy gave the technician a little smile before turning her back to speak to Dean, "Let me try."

"What are you going to do?" He asked unimpressed.

Buffy smirked, "If it's one thing I'm good at its persuasion" before she turned around Buffy straightened out her clothes and stood straight, which pushed her boobs out – Dean didn't fail to notice and also smirked as she wiggled her way and sat on the edge of the morgue technicians desk, who didn't take his eyes from her boobs as soon as she turned around.

Buffy put on her sweetest 'persuasive Buffy' voice and smiled, "Listen..." she looked at the technicians nametag, "Rodger," she giggled, "I really have to get back to Columbus but I have to see this body because if I dont I won't graduate and I won't become a doctor. You know," Buffy played with the collar on the technicians white jacket, "I was hoping to come here when I graduate but if I dont see that body I won't. You can help a girl out, right Rodger?" she ended with a little pout and her best pleading eyes.

The morgue technician looked at her pleading face for a second before his features softened into a small smile, "Follow me." He said as he got up and headed though double doors at the other end of the morgue.

Buffy got off the desk and smirked as Dean walked up to her, "And that's how it's done"

Dean smiled, "That was awesome! How the hell did you know how to do that?" he asked as they followed the technician.

Buffy shrugged, "I used to be a cheerleader, that kinda thing comes natural."

Dean stopped and watched Buffy follow the technician to the body with a dumbfounded look on his face, "My God..." He laughed and scratched at his head as he followed.

When he caught up with them Dean noticed that the body was already out and was covered over in a white sheet. "Now the newspaper said his daughter found him. She said his eyes were bleeding." Dean confirmed more than asked.

The morgue technician pulled back the sheet that was over the corpse Buffy stifled a gasp when she saw nothing in his eye sockets, just blood. "More than that. They practically liquefied."

Buffy put her hands inside the white jacket and pulled out a pair of glasses, putting them on she asked, "Any sign of a struggle? Maybe somebody did it to him?" she saw Dean shake his head at her.

The technician shook his head, "Nope. Besides the daughter, he was all alone."

Buffy leant closer to the body, "What's the official cause of death?"

The technician sighed, "Doc's not sure. Massive stroke, maybe an aneurysm? Something burst up in there, that's for sure."

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, pulling Buffy away from the body.

"Intense cerebral bleeding. This guy had more blood in his skull than anyone I've ever seen."

"The eyes—what would cause something like that?" Buffy asked, shaking Dean off her arm.

The technician scratched his head, "Capillaries can burst. See a lot of bloodshot eyes with stroke victims."

"Yeah? You ever see exploding eyeballs?" Dean said with a bit of a smile.

"That's a first for me, but hey, I'm not the doctor."

"Think we could take a look at that police report? You know for, uh…our paper." Dean asked.

The morgue technician sighed, "I'm not really supposed to show you that."

Dean turned his attention to Buffy, "What?" she whispered. Dean nodded his head toward the technician and Buffy clicked on. She turned to face the technician and smiled, "Aww come on Rodger." Buffy cooed and walked closer to him and played with her blond curls.

The technician smiled at Buffy and sighed, "Okay... but don't tell anyone, especially my boss."

Buffy smiled, "Scouts honour!" she held up a hand and crossed two of her fingers and she giggled as the technician went to get the police report.

As soon as he was gone Buffy straightened up and her smile was gone, taking the glasses off she sighed, "God I forgot how tiring that is"

Dean just looked at her like she was Jesus reincarnate. "That... is gonna be useful in future."

When the technician finally arrived with the police report Buffy also managed to persuade him to make a copy of the report then they left and headed back to the Impala where Sam was asleep in the back. They woke him up and told him everything they found out and showed him the police report. "Might not be one of ours. Might just be some freak medical thing."

Dean looked at Sam, "How many times in dad's long and varied career has it actually been a freak medical thing and not some sign of an awful supernatural death?"

Sam didn't even have to think, "Uh, almost never."

Dean smiled and pointed, "Exactly"

Sam sighed and sat up in the back. "All right, let's go talk to the daughter."

Sam was about to get out the back and Buffy was about to get in when Dean raised his hand. "Uh-Uh, you get to ride in the front Blondie."

Sam and Buffy both looked at each other and then at Dean, "What?" they both asked at the same time.

Dean smirked and pointed, "You earned it. Oh Sam you should have seen her, Man. She was like an alien, like a completely different Buffy – A nicer one actually – possessed her. She had that Idiot wrapped around her little finger. I tell ya that could become useful. Now get in the front Goldilocks."

Buffy and Sam both looked at each other and Sam got back in the car and Buffy walked around to the passenger side and slid in next to Dean. Getting herself comfortable she sighed, "I could get used to this seat" she nodded and put her sunglasses back on her face. She could hear both Sam and Dean chuckle as Dean started the engine and pulled out the hospital parking lot.

----

The whole ride over to Mr. Shoemaker's home Dean was telling Sam everything Buffy did inside the morgue to the morgue technician, he was still going on about it when he parked the car outside the Shoemaker house.

"I swear Sammy it was the freakiest thing ever. It was like one minute she was her usual annoying self and then all of a sudden she was like... this alien. I swear it was the freakiest thing I've ever seen." He chuckled as he got out the car.

"Okay can we drop it now" Buffy sighed as they headed up the path into the house.

Dean was still chuckling when they entered the open door into the house. The entire house was filled with people in black and all three of them looked at their own clothes. "Feel like we're underdressed?" Dean whispered as they walked through the house and followed people as they went out the back. Dean tapped a man on the shoulder and asked for the eldest Shoemaker daughter. The man pointed to a group of teenagers sat on patio furniture furthest from the house. All three stop when they reached them Dean coughed to get their attention and looked at one girl, eyes bloodshot, short brown hair sat between a younger girl and a blonde about the same age. "You must be Donna right?"

"Yeah."

Sam smiled. "Hi uh—we're really sorry."

Donna smiled lightly, "Thank you."

"I'm Sam, this is Dean and Buffy. We worked with your dad." Sam said gesturing to himself, Dean and Buffy.

"You did?"

Buffy nodded, "Yeah, I'm sorry for your loss. I know how it feels to lose a parent... I wouldn't wish it on anyone."

"This whole thing." Dean cut in before Buffy started crying along with Donna and her friends. "I mean, a stroke."

"I don't think she really wants to talk about this right now" one of Donna's friends snapped.

"It's okay Charlie. I'm okay." Donna said.

"Were there any symptoms? Dizziness? Migraines?" Dean asked.

Donna shook her head, "No."

The youngest girl turned around on the bench and looked at her sister. "That's because it wasn't a stroke."

Donna shook her head, "Lily don't say that."

"What?" Sam asked.

Donna looked up at Sam, "I'm sorry, she's just upset."

Lily spoke up again shaking her head, "No, it happened because of me."

"Sweetie, it didn't." Her sister pleaded.

Buffy bent down beside the younger sister, "Lily why would you say something like that?"

Lily hesitated for a moment then looked at Buffy, "Right before he died, I said it."

"You said what?"

"Bloody Mary-" Buffy looked straight at Sam and Dean then back to Lily, "Three times in the bathroom mirror. She took his eyes; that's what she does."

"That's not why dad died. This isn't your fault." Donna said.

"I think your sister's right, Lily. There's no way it could have been Bloody Mary. Your dad didn't say it, did he?" Dean asked.

"No I don't think so." Lily said quietly.

Buffy stroked Lily's hair before standing up. "We should go," Buffy said then looked to Donna, "Again I'm sorry about your dad."

Donna nodded and said goodbye to the three and they hastily entered the house.

"Well?" Buffy said.

"This is definitely a case." Sam said and started up the stairs.

---

Reaching the bathroom Sam pushed open the bathroom door and all three saw a pool of dried blood stuck to the floor tiles. "The Bloody Mary legend- Dad ever find any evidence that it was a real thing?" Asked Sam.

"Not that I know of." Dean said as he walked into the bathroom.

Buffy followed Dean into the bathroom whereas Sam knelt on the floor and examined the bloodstain.

"I mean, everywhere else all over the country, kids will play Bloody Mary, and as far as we know, no one dies from it." Sam stated getting up from the floor.

Dean opened up the medicine cabinet, "Yeah well maybe everywhere it's just a story but here it's actually happening."

"The place where the legend began maybe?" Buffy asked getting in the bathtub and looking around at the tiles, Dean shrugged his shoulders as an answer.

Sam stood next to Dean, "But according to the legend, the person who says—" Sam noticed the mirror on the medicine cabinet was facing him and shut it, ignoring Dean's giggle, "The person who says you know what, gets it. But here—"

"Shoemaker gets it instead, yeah." Dean finished.

Sam nodded, "Right."

Dean scratched his head, "Never heard anything like that before. Still, the guy did die right in front of the mirror, and the daughter's right. The way the legend goes, "you know who" scratches your eyes out."

Buffy got out the bathtub, "its worth checking in to." Sam said.

Buffy held up a finger to shush Sam, "Someone's coming" she said and within seconds they heard footsteps along the corridor. Hastily all three came out of the bathroom just in time to see one of Donna's friends, Charlie, coming down the corridor.

"What are you doing up here?" Charlie asked when she stopped in front of them.

Dean looked around at his brother and Buffy, "We—we, had to go to the bathroom." He explained.

Buffy and Sam looked at Dean then smiled and nodded to Charlie.

Charlie crossed her arms, "Who are you?" she asked.

"Like we said downstairs, we worked with Donna's dad." Dean said.

"He was a day trader or something, he worked by himself." Charlie added.

Dean laughed, "No, I know, I meant—"

"And all those weird questions downstairs, what was that? So you tell me what's going on, or I start screaming."

Sam stepped forward. "All right, all right. We think something happened to Donna's dad."

Charlie nodded, "Yeah, a stroke."

"That's not a sign of a typical stroke. We think it might be something else." Buffy stated.

"Like what?"

"Honestly? We don't know yet. But we don't want it to happen to anyone else. That's the truth." Dean stated.

"So… If you're gonna scream, go right ahead." Buffy said.

Charlie stared at Buffy for a second, "Who are you, cops?"

"Something like that." Dean suggested.

"I'll tell you what. Here." Sam reached into his pocket, pulling out some paper and a pen and started writing something down. "If you think of anything, you or your friends notice anything strange; out of the ordinary…just give us a call." He handed the paper to Charlie, who nodded, and he started down the hallway with Dean following.

"You know it wasn't a stroke" Buffy stated to Charlie when the boys were out of earshot, "We can help... Just give us a call if something else happens." Buffy waited for Charlie to nod before heading down the hallway to find the boys.

Sam was the one that suggested they go to the local library for research.

"Say Bloody Mary really is haunting this town. There's gonna be some sort of proof—like a local woman who died nasty." Dean said quietly as they entered the library entrance.

"Yeah but a legend this widespread it's hard. I mean, there's like 50 versions of who she actually is. One story says she's a witch, another says she's a mutilated bride, there's a lot more." Sam replied quietly as they entered the actual library.

"All right so what are we supposed to be looking for?" Buffy asked silently.

"Every version's got a few things in common. It's always a woman named Mary, and she always dies right in front of a mirror. So we've gotta search local newspapers—public records as far back as they go. See if we can find a Mary who fits the bill." Sam explained.

Dean sighed, "Well that sounds annoying."

"No it won't be so bad, as long as we…" Sam stopped when they reached the row of computers, which all had an 'Out of Order' sign on them and sighed, "I take it back. This will be very annoying."

"We're gonna be here all night." Dean sighed.

Buffy sighed also, "Well, looks like you guys won't need me-"

"What?" Dean was shushed by everyone in the library for raising his voice, "Sorry!" he whispered and turned back to Buffy, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Buffy just shrugged, "Look I'm a Slayer; I slay. I don't do research, I'm useless at this stuff. So why don't I get us checked in at a motel and leave you two here"

Dean laughed sarcastically and held up a hand, "Haha! No! There's no way your touching my car."

All three sighed and Sam spoke up, "Alright look I can stay here and try dig stuff up, you two can check in and have a look online. I'll meet up with you guy's in a couple of hours."

Buffy and Dean started to head out the library when Sam called them back, "Buffy? Make sure he actually does research and not clogging my laptop with porn." He laughed.

Buffy nodded and when they turned out the library Dean laughed, "It's not the laptop I'll be clogging up."

Buffy looked at Dean with disgust then just laughed, it should have surprised her but it didn't at all.

----

Buffy was glad to have her own room. She enjoyed her time with the boys but they forget a girl needs her privacy. As soon as Dean gave her one of the room keys she agreed to come to his room in a couple of hours she just wanted to shower and sort out her stuff. When she was alone Buffy showered and changed into red leather trousers and a black tank top then emptied her Duffel completely – when she was staying in the same room as Dean and Sam she always kept a couple of things in her duffel because she didn't want to answer any questions – she hung all her clothes in the wardrobe and neatly lined up her many, many shoes.

Reaching the bottom of the bag Buffy hesitated a little before pulling out the large wooden box. She sat on the edge of her bed and gingerly opened the lid and tried not to cry when she looked inside: the first thing she saw was the picture of her, Willow and Xander laying in her back garden – they were about sixteen when the picture was taken, Buffy was plumper then, Willow didn't look any different except her hair was shorter, and Buffy forgot how gangly Xander was back then, Buffy traced her fingers over her friends faces before putting the picture beside her and picking up another: her and Dawn on one of Buffy's birthdays, Buffy remembered that Dawn was about twelve when the picture was taken and she was suddenly filled with love and grief and silent tears started running down her cheeks. Moving on Buffy held up a picture of her, Dawn and Joyce, her mother – it was taken a few weeks after they moved to Sunnydale and Buffy remembered how happy her mom and Dawn were when they moved.

"I love you Mom..." Buffy muttered as she put the picture with the other two.

Digging deeper into the box Buffy pulled out a large two bladed knife, Faith's knife, the knife she took from Faith and gutted Faith with. Digging again Buffy pulled out a tiny silver ring and burst into sobs almost instantly when she thought of who gave it to her. Buffy couldnt really grasp how much heartache she'd had over the years and is still standing from it. When she put the ring on her finger, which still fit like a glove even though she hadn't worn it in years, Buffy cried a little harder and thought of Angel, still able to feel the love she has for him in her heart. Buffy lay on the bed and pressed the ring on her finger to her lips. She wasn't sure how long she stayed there for but when there was a light knocking at her door she choked back tears, wiped her eyes and answered the door. Dean stood outside the door looking impatient. As soon as he saw her he put his hands on the door frames, "We gotta go... Charlie called Sam and-" he stopped when he saw her puffy eyes and tear streaked face and he stiffened, "What happened? You okay?"

Buffy nodded, "Yeah, It's nothing. I'm fine." She smiled, though the smile didn't reach to her eyes, and she didn't look at him as she spoke.

Dean wanted to press, but he didn't, "Kay. Well we got a call from Charlie. We're heading over to her now, get your coat."

Buffy nodded, took her short leather jacket from the back of one of the chairs and picked up the room key and left the room, slamming the door behind her. Dean watched her the whole time she got to the car, "You sure you're okay?"

"I'll get over it." Buffy stated as she got in the back of the car.

They met up with Charlie at the local park; she was already sitting on one of the benches when they arrived. Buffy sat beside Charlie as she cried, Sam stood in front of her and Dean sat on the back of the bench, his feet on the seat. Through sobs, Charlie told them about one of her friends that were at the funeral, some blonde girl but Buffy couldnt pull out a face, anyway Charlie told them about a conversation they had about Bloody Mary then the next morning they found her dead in the same way as Mr. Shoemaker.

"And they found her on the bathroom floor. And her—her eyes. They were gone." Charlie said through sobs.

"I'm sorry." Sam said softly.

"And she said it." Charlie looked from Buffy to Dean to Sam, who all looked at each other too, "I heard her say it. But it couldn't be because of that. I'm insane, right?"

All three shook their heads, "No, you're not insane." Dean said.

Charlie sighed, "Oh God that makes me feel so much worse." She put her face in her hands and cried.

Buffy rubbed her back to calm her down, "Look. We think something's happening here. Something that can't be explained." She said.

Dean nodded when Charlie looked around, "And we're gonna stop it but we could use your help."

Charlie thought for a moment, "What do you need me to do?"

----

"You think she can pull it off?" Buffy asked Dean and the three perched on the porch roof waiting for Charlie to let them in. All Charlie had to do was to get Jill's room to herself for a while and let them in. Buffy wasn't so sure that she could pull it off.

Neither of the boys answered her, Dean just shrugged, they all stiffened when they saw Jill's bedroom door open but relaxed when they saw it was Charlie who turned the lights on and opened the window and they all climbed in.

"What did you tell Jill's mom?" Buffy asked when she climbed in. Sam climbed in next and took the green duffel from Dean so he could get in, when Dean was the last to get in he shut the curtains.

"Just that I needed some time alone with Jill's pictures and things." Charlie said as Sam pulled a camcorder out of the bag, "I hate lying to her." She sighed.

"Trust us; this is for the greater good. Hit the lights." Dean told her and Charlie turned out the main light. Dean rummaged through the bag and pulled out his EMF reader.

"What are you guys looking for?" Charlie asked.

"We'll let you know as soon as we find it." Buffy said, pulling out a flashlight from the top of her boot. Turning on the flashlight, she examined under Jill's bed.

"Hey, night vision." Sam said to Dean who pressed a button for the night vision on the camera, "Perfect." Sam said as he aimed the camera at Dean, Sam could clearly see Dean through the night vision.

Dean posed when he saw the camera on him, "Do I look like Paris Hilton?"

Sam, Charlie and Buffy laughed. Sam headed to Jill's closet and started filming around the mirror. Turning on the EMF reader Dean started scanning the room.

"So I don't get it. I mean…the first victim didn't summon Mary, and the second victim did. How's she choosing them?" Buffy asked as she stood up and walked into the bathroom.

"Beats me." Dean said as he crossed the room and stopped in front of Charlie, "I want to know why Jill said it in the first place." Dean didn't ask it was more of a demand at Charlie.

"It's just a joke."

Dean hovered the EMF meter over Jill's bed, "Yeah well somebody's gonna say it again; it's just a matter of time."

"Sam," Buffy called from the bathroom, Sam came into the bathroom and Buffy pointed to the mirror, "Check that." She said. She could feel the energy coming from the mirror.

Sam filmed along the mirror slowly. When he got to the bottom of the mirror he stopped about the middle of the frame. Buffy looked at what was on the camcorder screen, blood running from behind the mirror.

"Hey." Dean and Charlie turn to look at Sam. "There's a black light in the trunk, right?"

Dean nodded and opened the curtains and climbed out the window. Buffy helped Sam take down the mirror.

"How did you know that was there?" Sam asked as they gently pulled the mirror from the wall.

Buffy shrugged, "I _didn't _know if anything was there I just had a feeling that something _might_ be there. Like pins and needles in my hand when I placed it over the spot." She explained as she helped carry the mirror into the bedroom.

Sam laughed and shook his head, "That's some gift you've got there" he muttered and Buffy laughed.

Dean climbed back through the window with the black light just as Buffy and Sam got the mirror on the bed, mirror side down, and threw Buffy the light; Sam peeled off the brown paper that was on the back of the mirror and Buffy shone the black light over the back of the mirror. Near the centre of the mirror out shone a gory looking handprint with the words "Gary Bryman" written underneath; the lettering made Buffy think of the 'Goosebumps' writing.

"Gary Bryman?" Charlie read out with surprise.

"You know who that is?" Sam asked.

Charlie shook her head, "No."

Buffy turned off the black light and shoved it inside the duffel. "So what do we do now?"

Sam hung the mirror back in the bathroom, "I guess we find out who this Gary Bryman is as he's our only lead." Coming out the bathroom he threw the camcorder to Dean who put it in the duffel and zipped it shut.

"You go stall while we get out of here... meet you outside." Dean said to Charlie.

As Charlie left the room the other three climbed out the window as quietly as they could, climbed down the gutter, and ran to the car. Charlie was already waiting by the car.

Buffy, Dean and Charlie waited for Sam at the same park they met Charlie at. Sam did the research on Gary Bryman as it was concluded that Buffy and Dean just fought over who did less research than actual research so they were sent to wait at the park with Charlie while he found everything out. As usual Sam didn't take very long; half an hour later he was back with a sheet of paper.

Tapping Dean to move up the bench Sam sat down, "So, Gary Bryman was an 8-year-old boy. Two years ago he was killed in a hit and run. The car was described as a black Toyota Camry. But nobody got the plates or saw the driver."

Charlie froze, "Oh my God." She spoke quickly and looked like she was going to throw up.

"What?" All three asked.

"Jill drove that car." She answered without looking at any of them.

Dean exchanged looks with Sam, "We need to get back to your friend Donna's house."

----

Ten minutes later they arrived at Donna Shoemaker's house and after an awkward discussion on Sam and Dean wanting to see the bathroom mirror Donna let them upstairs while Buffy and Charlie waited downstairs with Donna.

"So you worked with my dad?" Donna asked Buffy when the boys were upstairs.

Buffy nodded, "Yeah, I'm a.... secretary for his company. I'd seen your father around a few times. He was a good man." Buffy lied through her teeth.

Donna didn't say anything for a moment. "And those guys worked with him too?"

Buffy just nodded and tried not to smile when she saw the pair coming down the stairs. Obviously once she saw the looks on their face she knew it wasn't good news.

"Donna, who is Linda Shoemaker?" Sam asked as politely as he could.

Donna moved towards the staircase then faced them, "Why are you asking me this?"

"Look, we're sorry, but it's important." Sam stated.

Donna glared at them all before speaking, "Yeah. Linda's my mom okay? She overdosed on sleeping pills, it was an accident, and that's it." As soon as she said 'Sleeping pills' they all looked around at each other. "I think you should leave." Donna added.

Dean raised a hand, "Now Donna, just listen."

"Get out of my house!" She yelled as she ran up the stairs.

"Oh my God." Charlie sighed and crossed her arms, "Do you really think her dad could've killed her mom?"

Sam thought, "Maybe." He replied.

"I think I should stick around." Charlie stated.

Dean nodded, "All right. Whatever you do, don't-"

"Believe me, I won't say it."

After saying goodbye to Charlie Buffy couldnt get out that house quicker. "What the hell is going on around here?" Buffy asked as the three of them rushed to get in the car.

"Now," Dean stopped as he started the car, "we go to the motel and dig up as much as we can." To which he and Buffy sighed unhappily.

Buffy had been helping search for any kind of lead on Bloody Mary for over an hour, there was a reason why Buffy never did research and that was because she was bad at it. She hadn't got anywhere by the time she fell asleep at the table surrounded by books and papers. She woke when she heard the printer moaning away but she refused to open her eyes.

"Wait, wait, wait, you're doing a nationwide search?" She heard Sam say.

"Yep. The NCIC, the FBI database—at this point any Mary in the country who died in front of a mirror is good enough for me." Dean replied.

When she looked up the room was messier than when she fell asleep: there were papers stuck to walls, papers all over the beds and tables. Sam cleared a seat at the table and gave Buffy a 'enjoy your sleep?' smile before carrying on with their conversation "But if she's haunting the town, she should have died in the town."

Dean shook his head, "I'm telling you there's nothing local, I've checked. So unless you got a better idea"

Sam scratched at the back of his neck, "The way Mary's choosing her victims, it seems like there's a pattern."

"I know, I was thinking the same thing."

"With mister Shoemaker and Jill's hit and run." Sam prompted.

"Both had secrets where people died." Dean finished. Buffy found it amazing that these two boys could fight till they were black and blue yet they could reach what each other were thinking.

"Right. I mean there's a lot of folklore about mirrors-that they reveal all your lies, all your secrets, that they're a true reflection of your soul, which is why it's bad luck to break them."

Dean thought as Sam was talking, "Right, right. So maybe if you've got a secret, I mean like a really nasty one where someone died, and then Mary sees it, and punishes you for it."

"Whether you're the one that summoned her or not." Sam added.

Dean smirked and pressed a button on the laptop keyboard that sent the printer whirring. "Take a look at this." Dean got up from his seat and poured two coffees and handed one to Buffy.

"Enjoy your very loud nap?" He asked casually as he perched on the edge of the table and drank his coffee.

Buffy blew on the hot coffee and rolled her eyes; she didn't bother answering him and drank the coffee instead. Sam took out the papers that were printed and examined two together. "Looks like the same handprint."

"What is it?" Buffy asked, sliding her feet underneath her.

"Her name was Mary Worthington—an unsolved murder in Fort Wayne, Indiana." Dean replied as he put his shoes on.

Buffy put her coffee mug on the table, "You're going now?" Buffy looked at the clock on the wall, "Dean its 3.30 in the morning."

Dean shrugged, "You dont have to come. We can take care of this; you go to your own room and, you know, paint your nails...or whatever." Dean smirked as he put on his jacket, Sam laughed at Dean as he put his jacket on.

Buffy rolled her eyes and got out of her seat, "Dean, in case you haven't noticed, I'm not your average girl. I dont have time to do my nails... I wish I did but I dont. Besides when I do they always chip when I get into a fight."

Dean looked at her and shrugged. "So what are your plans then?"

Buffy also shrugged. "I was thinking patrolling."

She watched Sam and Dean look to each other before looking back at her, "Patrolling?" Dean asked.

Buffy nodded, "Yeah. Patrolling; you know when you go out for a walk and kill any nasties you find on the streets." She saw the blank looks on the pair's faces and rolled her eyes, "You're kidding? You mean you guys don't patrol? Okay, you guys do what you have to do and I'll go patrol. I'll see you guys in the morning." She didn't wait for any answer as she left their room and headed into her own to change into comfier clothes to fight in.

---

As she was changing she heard the growling of the Impala as it sped off. She changed into a pair of old jeans she'd patrolled in before, a thin black sweater and her red leather jacket. Weapon wise Buffy armed herself with the Jackal, Faith's blade, and hid another blade in the top of her boot in case she lost the Jackal, she also hid a couple of stakes in the inside pocket of her jacket too just in case.

Buffy hadn't patrolled since she came back and it was going to take her a while to get over the routine she used to use: scope out The Bronze, then the graveyard, then the centre of town, then the other graveyards before heading home. Buffy had no clue where the graveyards were around here. Buffy decided to start at the nearest bar and she stayed there for an hour and found nothing, the bar pretty much stayed empty, so she moved on and just wandered the streets for hours – she thought she found a vampire a couple of hours in but it was just a man mugging a woman about her age, she managed to retrieve the bag from the mugger so that pepped her up a bit. Buffy only now started to realise how different Sunnydale was to everywhere else. By now Buffy would be on her seventh kill of the night if she was busy. The streets were always swarming with demons or vampires but here there was nothing.

She gave up by 5am and headed back to the motel, she was still itching for a fight when she got back and she would have took it out on a punch bag but she didn't have one so she had to resort to shadow boxing instead for an hour. By 7am Buffy had tired herself, showered and had just tucked herself up for some sleep and it felt like minutes later there was hasty banging on her door. Buffy looked at the clock by her bed and she was shocked to see it read nearing 5pm, groggily she got out of bed and answered the door; before she'd even opened it fully Dean barged in followed by Sam with his arm around Charlie.

"Charlie?" she looked to Dean as Sam sat Charlie on the bed, "What happened?"

Dean shrugged, "Just cover everything with a reflection." He stated as he draped Buffy's dressing gown over the large make up mirror. She was suddenly very glad for wearing her 'Yummy Sushi' pyjamas – no matter how silly they made her look at least she wasn't cold. Buffy nodded and got a load of sheets out the closet and hung them over the bathroom mirror and over the mirror inside the closet door and she put her clock face down on the table. Dean shut the curtains.

Sam sat himself beside Charlie, "Hey, hey it's ok. Hey, you can open up your eyes Charlie. It's okay, all right?" he stated softly and Charlie looked up slowly.

"Now listen. You're gonna stay right here on this bed, and you're not gonna look at glass, or anything else that has a reflection, okay? And as long as you do that, she cannot get you." Sam told her in a soft voice.

"But I can't keep that up forever. I'm gonna die, aren't I?" She asked looking at all three of them.

"No. No. Not anytime soon." Sam replied. Buffy looked at Dean with a 'What the hell is going on?' expression on her face. Dean sat himself beside Sam, "All right Charlie. We need to know what happened."

"We were in the bathroom. Donna said it."

"That's not what we're talking about." Dean shook his head and saw the shock in Charlie's face, "Something happened, didn't it? In your life…a secret…where someone got hurt. Can you tell us about it?"

Charlie hesitated for a moment, "I had this boyfriend. I loved him. But he kind of scared me too, you know?" Buffy couldn't begin to tell her how much she understood from those three lines. "And one night, at his house, we got in this fight. Then I broke up with him, and he got upset, and he said he needed me and he loved me, and he said "Charlie, if you walk out that door right now, I'm gonna kill myself." And you know what I said? I said "Go ahead." And I left. How could I say that? How could I leave him like that? I just…I didn't believe him, you know? I should have."

Buffy was too shocked to say anything and she actually fought back tears as images of Angel flashed through her head. Dean looked to Sam, "We gotta find that mirror." Then he looked to Buffy, "Will you stay here and watch Charlie?"

"No." Both Buffy and Charlie said together.

"There's no way I'm letting you two do this without me." Buffy added, "Charlie can stay here where there are no reflections on anything and as long as she doesn't move from _that spot_ she'll be fine."

Charlie nodded, "I'm okay. She can go."

Before they even had a chance to protest Buffy ran to her closet then the bathroom to change.

----

"You know her boyfriend killing himself, that's not really Charlie's fault." Dean said as he drove to the antiques store in the pouring rain. Buffy suddenly wished she'd worn a jacket instead of her blue sweater.

"You know as well as I do spirits don't exactly see shades of gray, Dean. Charlie had a secret, someone died, that's good enough for Mary." Sam stated with an un-amused grin.

"I guess." Dean said quietly.

Buffy sat forward, "You know, I've been thinking. It might not be enough to just smash that mirror."

Sam looked at Buffy and nodded, "Yeah me too." He said almost shocked that she thought of it too.

"Why, what do you mean?" Dean asked looking from Sam to Buffy.

"Well Mary's hard to pin down, right? I mean she moves around from mirror to mirror so who's to say that she's not just gonna keep hiding in them forever? So maybe we should try to pin her down, you know, summon her to her mirror and then smash it." Sam explained.

Dean thought for a moment, "Well how do you both know that's going to work?"

Buffy shrugged and Sam sighed, "I don't, not for sure." Sam added.

"Well who's gonna summon her?"

"I will. She'll come after me." Sam said. Buffy was about to say she would too but the shock of Sam saying he would completely threw her off.

It seemed that he threw Dean off too, "You know what, that's it." Dean pulled the car over and turned to Sam, "This is about Jessica, isn't it? You think that's your dirty little secret that you killed her somehow? Sam, this has got to stop, man. I mean, the nightmares and calling her name out in the middle of the night—it's gonna kill you. Now listen to me—it wasn't your fault. If you wanna blame something, then blame the thing that killed her. Or hell, why don't you take a swing at me? I mean I'm the one that dragged you away from her in the first place." He yelled and refrained himself from shaking his little brother.

"Dean..." Buffy said.

"I don't blame you." Sam finally said.

"Well you shouldn't blame yourself, because there's nothing you could've done." Dean stated getting angrier every second.

"I could've warned her."

Dean looked at Sam like he just gave birth to a turtle, "About what? You didn't know what was gonna happen! And besides, all of this isn't a secret, I mean I know all about it. It's not gonna work with Mary anyway."

"No you don't." Sam spat.

"I don't what?"

"You don't know all about it. I haven't told you everything."

"What are you talking about?" Dean almost growled.

"Well it wouldn't really be a secret if I told you, would it?" Sam spat again.

Buffy coughed, "Okay, not wanting to interrupt the family feud because it's not my business but Sam, Dean is right. I dont know what happened with your girlfriend but it sounds like you couldnt have prevented it..." Dean looked at Buffy and smiled at Sam. "And you are_ not_ summoning Mary... I am."

Dean and Sam both looked at Buffy, "What?!"

"Not you as well" Dean sighed.

"I'm the Slayer; this is what I'm born to do. It's my responsibility. I'm not having either of you die because of this."

Dean looked at Buffy a little surprised. "No. I don't like it. It's not gonna happen, forget it. Both of you."

"Dean that girl back there is going to die unless we do something about it. And you know what? Who knows how many more people are gonna die after that? Now we're doing this. You've got to let me do this." Sam protested and looked at both Buffy and Dean.

Buffy sighed, "Fine. But I'm staying with you."

Dean growled, "My god it's like you're both itching to die."

"Been there, done that remember?" Buffy joked.

Dean eyed Buffy then looked at Sam, "You too are so alike you should get married and have freakishly strong kids." He said as he started the car and carried on driving a little slower than usual due to the pouring rain.

----

When they arrived at the antiques shop Dean still didn't want either of them to summon Mary but he realised he didn't have much of a choice. He was finally starting to calm down as Sam was picking the lock of the front door.

"You know if you let me do it, it would be much faster." Buffy stated. Buffy wasn't one to use lock picks, she could just twist the handle hard enough to make it open for her. However they both just ignored her and Sam eventually unlocked the door. When they entered the entire shop was filled with mirrors.

"Well…that's just great." Dean sighed and pulled out a picture from his jacket pocket, and they all took a quick look. "All right let's start looking."

All three split off into different directions, "Maybe they've already sold it." Dean yelled a few minutes later.

"I don't think so." Came Sam's reply a second later, he waved his flashlight so Buffy and Dean could find him. Dean pulled out the picture again and confirmed that Sam had in fact found the mirror.

"That's it." Dean sighed and looked at Sam, "You sure about this?" he asked, hoping Sam would chicken out. Sam thought for a second before handing his flashlight over to his brother.

Sam turned and looked at himself in the mirror and sighed, "Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary." Sam paused and looked at Dean, who gave him and unsure look, Buffy tensed up. Sam picked up the crowbar. "Bloody Mary."

All three held up their crowbar and waited for her to come. They were suddenly distracted by the flashing lights from the front of the shop.

"I'll go check that out. Stay here, be careful. Smash anything that moves." He started walking away but quickly turned and whispered to Buffy, "Keep him alive." Before leaving them and heading to the front of the shop.

Buffy was about to say something to Sam when she heard the breathing, seeing Sam heard it too they both looked around but saw nothing. Buffy knew she was here. She could feel her.

"She's here." Buffy whispered. "Keep a lookout."

Suddenly Sam smashed the mirror to his right, then one on the left. Then Buffy saw her in the mirror to her right and didn't hesitate to smash it, then the one behind her after catching a glimpse as she turned around. There was only one mirror left near them; her mirror. Both Sam and Buffy faced the mirror.

"Come on. Come into this one." Sam spat.

"Sam I dont think its working." Buffy whispered hastily. When he didn't say anything Buffy moved slightly and saw him staring at his reflection oddly. Then she saw the blood dripping from his reflections eye and she heard Sam struggle to breath. Yelling his name she threw manoeuvred the crowbar above her head but her own reflection took a life of its own too and she had a sharp pain in her eyes as her reflection bled out. Buffy gasped for breath but she couldnt get it.

"It's your fault." Sam's reflection spat out as Sam clutched at his heart, "You killed her. You killed Jessica."

"You call yourself a Slayer to hide who you truly are," Buffy's own reflection spoke venomously and Buffy felt a pain in her chest like a white hot poker and she also grabbed at her heart, "You're a murderer."

"You never told her the truth—who you really were." Sam's reflection started up again and Sam fell to the ground struggling for oxygen. "But it's more than that, isn't it? Those nightmares you've been having of Jessica dying, screaming, burning—you had them for days before she died. Didn't you!?! You were so desperate to ignore them, to believe they were just dreams. How could you ignore them like that? How could you leave her alone to die!?! You dreamt it would happen!!!"

Buffy's reflection spoke at the same time as Sam's and she fell to the floor at the same time.

"All these years you never told a soul. They never saw you for who you really were – they never saw the demon growing inside you. Your boyfriend. You killed him!! You drove that sword through his chest even though you knew he was good again?! You could have chosen a different way to close that portal but you wanted out so you killed him. And then Faith. You drove that dagger into her stomach like she was made of butter and, for once, you didn't care whether she lived or died. And then there's Mommy dearest. You know it was your fault. You knew there was something still wrong with her but you were caught up in your own drama to help her. You're mother died slowly, painfully, and alone and it's all your fault! She'd still be here if you weren't such a selfish bitch!"

Both Buffy and Sam were close to passing out with lack of oxygen and the pain in their eyes were unbelievable, they could feel the blood running down their faces, the pain getting worse the angrier Mary got. Buffy shut her eyes ready to pass out when she heard the grunting and the smashing of the mirror and she fell to the floor coughing as she sucked in much needed oxygen.

"Sam, Sammy!" Dean yelled kneeling beside his brother and holding his face in his hands.

Sam opened an eye, "its Sam." He said pointedly.

"God, are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah." Sam said sarcastically to his brother.

Buffy coughed, "Don't worry about me guys. I'm alright." She joked.

Dean crossed over to Buffy and pulled her arm over his neck and pulled her over to Sam, he pulled Sam's arm over his neck also and he helped the two of them walk out the shop. But he stopped when he heard the crunching of glass, knowing there wasn't any at his feet. When he turned himself, Sam and Buffy around they all saw Mary climbing out of the mirror. Buffy felt that pain in her chest and eyes again and she felt herself fall to the ground as Dean fell. Buffy saw Mary walking closer to them and she knew if she didn't think of something quick all three of them will die. She didn't know why she picked up the mirror beside her but she was glad she did as Mary stopped in her place and started choking herself.

"You killed them! All those people! You killed them!" Buffy heard Mary's voice screaming from the mirror. Mary clutched at her throat and fell to the ground and shattered like glass on the floor. Buffy instantly felt the pain leave her body and all three of them gasped for breath and Buffy threw the mirror in her hands and it shattered as it smashed into the floor. Buffy breathed hard and fell back and lay on the ground.

Dean sat up and examined all the broken glass around the shop, "Hey guys?"

"Yeah?" Buffy and Sam said at the same time.

"This has got to be like…what? 600 years of bad luck?" he joked.

Sam chuckled weakly and Buffy laughed as she slowly sat up.

"Hey how did you know that if you showed her reflection it would kill her?" Dean asked as he got to his feet.

When she got to her feet Buffy shrugged, "I didn't." She helped Sam up from the ground, "I was going to throw it at the bitch." When she saw Dean slowly raise a smile she laughed. All three laughed as they left the shop.

----

When they got back to the motel it was almost morning and it took them a while to convince Charlie it was over once they got back to the motel but eventually they got her to look into a mirror and she finally believed them. Buffy was surprised that she actually stayed in the same spoke only instead of sitting up she was laying down.

"So this is really over?" Charlie asked with a smile as Dean pulled up outside her house.

Dean turned to look at her in the back seat and nodded, "Yeah, its over."

Charlie smiled, "Thank you." She said and shook Dean's hand and hugged Buffy who sat with her in the back seat and she got out the car.

"Charlie?" Charlie turned around when Buffy called her name, her head hanging out the window, "Your boyfriend's death…you really should try to forgive yourself."

"No matter what you did, you probably couldn't have stopped it. Sometimes bad things just happen." Sam finished, understanding exactly what Buffy meant.

Charlie smiled and nodded faintly then continued up the path to her house.

Dean punched Sam lightly in the shoulder, "That's good advice." He stated which Sam chuckled.

When they drove off after a few minutes Dean spoke up, "Hey Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Now that this is all over, I want you to tell me what that secret is."

Sam sighed, "Look…you're my brother and I'd die for you, but there are some things I need to keep to myself."

Dean just nodded then Buffy saw him look at her in the rear view mirror and she shook her head, "No way, I dont know you well enough to spill." She laughed.

Dean just shook his head, "you two are a match made in heaven." He mumbled as he drove back to the motel.

* * *

Well there you go. That was my version of Bloody Mary, I hope you enjoyed it.


	5. Skin

Hey guys, sorry this one took so long to finish, there was some family drama but i tried to get it done as quick as possible but its up now so lets hope you enjoy it.

A/N: There is a part in this story that you will recognise as part of an episode of Buffy Season 6 im just letting you know thats where i got it from.. you'll know it when you read it :)

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Eric Kripke owns Supernatural and it's scripts and Joss Wheedon owns Buffy. This was made for fun.

I used the TwizTv script for Supernatural Season 1, Episode 5 "Skin"

* * *

A couple of weeks had passed since the Bloody Mary case and for a while things were a little awkward between all three of them, especially Buffy and Sam as they both heard of each other's secrets and Dean was just upset that neither of them were willing to share said secrets. After a few days Dean stopped pestering them and Buffy and Sam were able to forget that it happened, though they both now had a new found respect for each other but also they were cautious, they knew they'd have to talk to each other to explain everything that Mary had said to them. Buffy had to explain why she killed her boyfriend, why she nearly killed another Slayer and explain what happened to her mom just like Sam had to tell her about his dreams that he had before Jessica died, the dreams of her dying in the same way she actually died.

Buffy wasn't ready to spill her guts up and she figured if Sam couldnt tell his brother then he wouldn't be able to tell her about it so they all just stopped thinking about it.

Buffy wasn't sure where they were heading for another case, Dean wasn't one to tell her until they were actually there which annoyed her most the time but she was starting to get used to it. As long as she got to beat something up she didn't care where she went. Buffy had seen more of America in the last month than she had ever seen in her twenty-two years existence. Even if she was stuck in the car half the time and having to put up with Dean, both taking charge of everything and his drunken antics, at least she was getting to see places she only dreamed that one day she would see. _Why didn't I find these guys when I ran away?!_ Buffy loved the thought of getting to travel all across America saving lives. For some reason she knew that there must have been more evil out there other than Sunnydale but it never occurred to her that maybe they didn't have anyone to save them. After leaving Sunnydale when she did Buffy felt that weight on her shoulders lifted slightly, knowing that there were people saving lives, risking their own in the process, just like her. Sometimes Buffy got homesick, felling guilty of leaving them behind, she thought they must have realised something happened to her grave, she didn't exactly tidy up after herself when she crawled out of it, if they'd been by it since then. Though Buffy had the feeling it was safer for them thinking she was gone. Willow is a strong witch, as is Tara, and if anything happened Buffy knew they could handle it.

Glancing down at her watch Buffy held back a yawn as she noticed they'd been driving for about five hours and she was glad that Dean pulled over into the next gas station. "Alright, I figure we'd hit Tucumcari by lunch, and then head south, hit Bisbee by midnight." Dean said as he killed the engine and Buffy got out and headed for the restroom, turning his head Dean noticed Sam playing on his Palm Pilot. "Sam wears women's underwear."

"I've been listening', I'm just busy." Sam said not looking up from his Palm Pilot.

"Busy doin' what?" Dean asked as he got out the car.

"Reading E-mails"

Dean shut the car door, "E-mails from who?"

"From my friends at Stanford." Sam yelled as Dean walked around the car.

Dean laughed, "You're kidding. You still keep in touch with your college buddies?" he asked as he pulled out one of the gas pumps and put it in the car.

"Why not?"

"Well, what exactly do you tell 'em? You know, about where you've been, what you've been doin'?" Dean asked leaning against Sam's door.

Sam eyeballed his brother, "I tell 'em I'm on a road trip with my big brother. I tell 'em I needed some time off after Jess."

"Oh, so you lie to 'em." Dean simplified.

"No. I just don't tell 'em….everything." Sam corrected.

"Yeah, that's called lying. I mean, hey, man, I get it, tellin' the truth is far worse." Dean stated.

"So, what am I supposed to do, just cut everybody out of my life?" Sam saw Dean shrug, "You're serious?"

Dean laughed, "Look, it sucks, but in a job like this, you can't get close to people, period."

"That's not true." Buffy said as she came back with a few snacks in a plastic bag.

"You're kind of anti-social, you know that?" Sam said to Dean at the same time as she came up to them.

Buffy threw the snacks in the back of the car and leant on the car next to Dean, "I mean I had loads of friends in Sunnydale that knew who I was."

Dean raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Exactly."

"God…." Sam exclaimed.

"What?" Dean asked, leaning into the window to see what Sam was looking at. Buffy took off her sunglasses and stood a little closer.

"In this e-mail from this girl, Rebecca Warren, one of those friends of mine." Sam explained.

"Is she hot?" Dean asked with a smirk but Sam just ignored him and he heard Buffy laugh.

"I went to school with her, and her brother, Zack. She says Zack's been charged with murder. He's been arrested for killing his girlfriend. Rebecca says he didn't do it, but it sounds like the cops have a pretty good case."

"Dude, what kind of people are you hangin' out with?" Dean asked seriously.

"My God..." Buffy sighed.

"No, man, I know Zack. He's no killer." Sam said desperately to his brother.

"Well, maybe you know Zack as well as he knows you." Dean replied.

Sam looked at his Palm Pilot then back to Dean, "They're in St. Louis. We're going'."

Dean chuckled, "Look, sorry 'bout your buddy, okay? But this does not sound like our kind of problem."

"It is our problem. They're my friends." Sam spat.

Dean gestured behind himself, "St. Louis is four hundred miles behind us, Sam." Dean practically yelled. Sam didn't say anything, he just stared his brother out. It was Buffy who spoke up. She moved herself so she was stood by Sam's window too and put her hand on Dean's shoulder to get his attention. "Dean, he would do it for you."

Dean glared at Buffy for siding with Sam, which he'd noticed her doing a lot lately and it was annoying him, then looked at Sam who stared at him with big puppy eyes. Dean sighed and went to the back of the car and took the gas pump out. "Don't say I never do anything for you!" Dean yelled as he headed to the cashier to pay for his gas.

Buffy turned to face Sam, "How long do you reckon it will take to get to St. Louis?"

Sam thought and let out his breath with a puff, "I'd say about six hours."

Buffy groaned, "Oh great." She cried and crawled into the back of the car, regretting taking Sam's side.

----

After six boring hours later Sam guided Dean to his friend, Rebecca's, house which was on the rich side of St. Louis: the house was a huge bleached brick house. Buffy hadn't seen a house this big since she left L.A and she forgot houses like those existed. Everyone got out the car when Dean parked on the large driveway and they waited when Sam rang the doorbell. After a minute the door opened and a girl about Sam's age, a little taller than Buffy but just as blonde, wearing light blue jeans, green paisley top with a green sweater that ties over the stomach over the top. She smiled when she saw Sam.

"Oh my God, Sam!"

Sam smiled when she smiled, "Well, if it isn't little Becky."

Rebecca rolled her eyes, "You know what you can do with that little Becky crap." She smiled and pulled him into a hug.

"I got your e-mail." Sam stated when she let go.

"I didn't think that you would come here."

Dean stepped forward, extended his hand and smiled, "Dean. Older brother."

"Hi." Rebecca smiled shaking his hand.

"Hi." Dean repeated.

Buffy coughed loudly and smiled when Rebecca spotted her, "Buffy. Family friend."

"Nice to meet you."

"We're here to help. Whatever we can do." Sam said when Dean finally let go of her hand.

Rebecca gestured them inside, "Come in."

They all followed her inside, Dean shutting the door when they were all inside.

"Nice place." Buffy said as she followed Rebecca and Sam through the hallway.

"It's my parents'. I was just crashing here for the long weekend when everything happened. I decided to take the semester off. I'm gonna stay until Zack's free." Becky replied as they headed through the dining room.

"Where are your folks?" Sam asked walking alongside Becky through the dining room and into the kitchen.

"They live in Paris for half the year, so they're on their way home now for the trial." Becky stopped by the huge silver fridge, "Do you guys want a beer or something?"

Dean raised a huge smile, "Hey—"

Sam cut off his brother, "No, thanks. So, tell us what happened."

All three of them stood on the opposite side of the white marble counter and waited for Becky to explain.

"Well, um, Zack came home, and he found Emily tied to a chair. And she was beaten up and bloody, and she wasn't breathing." Her voice started to break, "So, he called 911, and the police—they showed up, and they arrested him. But, the thing is, the only way that Zack could've killed Emily is if he was in two places at the same time." Buffy looked at Dean with a 'this sounds like our kind of job' look as Becky regained control of her emotions, whereas Dean just looked bored. "The police—they have a video. It's from the security tape from across the street. And it shows Zack coming home at 10:30. Now, Emily was killed just after that, but I swear, he was here with me, having a few beers until at least after midnight." Becky finished.

"You know, maybe we could see the crime scene; Zack's house." Sam suggested in an unusual soft voice.

Buffy looked at Sam, trying to not show concern, and was about to say something when Dean nodded. "We could" he added.

Rebecca looked between the two brothers then back at Sam, "Why? I mean, what could you do?"

"Well, me, not much." Sam stated, "But Dean's a cop."

Dean laughed almost uncomfortably then nodded again, "Detective, actually."

Buffy looked at Dean wide-eyed and he quickly shrugged at her.

Rebecca smiled, "Really?"Dean nodded. "Where?"

"Bisbee, Arizona. But I'm off-duty now." Buffy laughed at him, it still amazed her how quickly he could make something up.

Rebecca thought for a second, almost looking hopeful, but then she shrugged and sighed, "You guys, it's so nice to offer, but I just—I don't know."

"Beck, look, I know Zack didn't do this. Now, we have to find a way to prove that he's innocent." Sam said.

Rebecca looked at all three of them before smiling, "Okay. I'm gonna go get the keys." Rebecca left the kitchen.

Dean didn't waste any time in voicing his concerns, "Oh, yeah, man, you're a real straight shooter with your friends." He said un-amused as he moved so he was stood between the entrance to the hallway and Sam.

Sam glared. "Look, Zack and Becky need our help."

"I just don't think this is our kind of problem." Dean laughed.

"Two places at once? We've looked into less." Sam stated.

Dean tried staring out his brother but as usual he gave in and just sighed. "Fine."

"Okay. I've got the keys." Rebecca called from the hallway. Sam and Dean shared another look before Sam left the kitchen.

Dean sighed and turned around to face the hallway and Buffy came up silently and stood beside him with a smirk on her face, "Arizona huh? That's all you could come up with?"

Dean turned his head and glared at her, and then he shook his head and silently headed for Sam and Rebecca.

"Sorry officer!" Buffy called with a giggle then followed him out the house.

Dean let Rebecca sit up front, him thinking it was making it look like he was a gentleman when really to Buffy and Sam they knew his real agenda. Rebecca directed Dean to her brothers' house, which seemed like a nice enough street – not as well kept as others in the town but still it looked normal.

Dean stopped the Impala across from the house which was covered in yellow police tape. When they were out of the car they all looked across the street at the house.

"You're sure this is okay?" Rebecca asked nervously crossing her arms.

Dean nodded, "Yeah. I am an officer of the law." He said with a smile and walked across the street with Rebecca, Sam and Buffy following. Stopping at the front door Rebecca handed over the key to Dean who then let himself inside. Buffy followed Dean and Sam into the house, the furniture and walls were smeared with dried blood and Buffy had to fight back a grimace.  
Buffy heard Rebecca speak up, Sam was stood at the front door with Rebecca on the porch, "No. I wanna help." Rebecca ducked under the police tape and came inside the house. She didn't bother hiding her grimace.

Buffy went up to Rebecca and Sam, "Can you tell us what else the police said?" she asked softly.

She could see Rebecca trying to not look around the room and not to cry at the same time, "Well, there's no sign of a break-in. They say that Emily let her attacker in. The lawyers—they're already talking about plea bargain." Finally her voice broke and as she looked around the room her face broke down and tears started to fall, "Oh, God…." Buffy put a hand on Rebecca's arm.

"Look, Beck, if Zack didn't do this, it means someone else did. Any idea who?" Sam asked.

In the silence as Rebecca thought Buffy could hear a dog barking outside the front of the house, "Um, there was something, about a week before. Somebody broke in here and stole some clothes—Zack's clothes. The police—they don't think it's anything. I mean, we're not that far from downtown. Sometimes people get robbed." Dean brushed past Buffy and stood at the open front door. Sam moved from Rebecca and started looking around the kitchen. Buffy gave Rebecca a small smile and moved away, she was never good with upset girls, the only girls she could comfort were Dawn and Willow – she'd had enough time to get used to their crying. Buffy examined around the living room and this time didn't hide her thoughts on the mess. Everything was ruined; the carpet was covered in blood, the chairs were smeared with blood, the walls were covered in blood, even the photos or artworks on the walls and on dressers and fireplaces were covered in blood. Buffy felt someone pulling on her arm and she was dragged over to the kitchen where Sam was by Dean.

"So, the neighbor's dog went psycho right around the time Zack's girlfriend was killed." Dean told them.

Sam looked at both Buffy and Dean, "Animals can have a sharp sense of the paranormal." He reminded them.

"Yeah, maybe Fido saw somethin'." Dean stated.

Buffy could tell Sam wanted to say it so she said it for him, "So, you think maybe this is our kind of problem?"

Dean shook his head, "No probably not." Buffy and Sam both smiled at each other knowing he was going to disagree, "But we should look at the security tape, you know, just to make sure." He added.

Sam smiled, "Yeah."

"Yeah" Dean repeated. Hearing Rebecca coming up to them Dean turned around to face her. "So, the tape, the security footage—you think maybe your lawyers could get their hands on it, because I just don't have that kind of jurisdiction." He asked turning on his charm.

Rebecca smiled faintly, "I've already got it. I didn't wanna say something in front of the cop. I stole it off the lawyer's desk. I just had to see it for myself."

Dean laughed, "All right." he grinned at Buffy and Sam before ushering Rebecca out the house.

"Okay we're gonna drop you off at yours then we're gonna get checked in at a motel then we'll meet up with you at yours later." Sam said as they got to the Impala.

"We are?" Dean asked which Sam nodded and Rebecca agreed.

----

When Rebecca was dropped off they searched for a motel which was on the outskirts of town. Buffy and Sam unloaded the trunk as Dean checked them in. He came out swinging a motel key from his finger.

"Where's my key?" Buffy asked, holding out her hand for her room key.

Dean sighed dramatically, "They only had one room left so I'm afraid we're gonna have to bunk up tonight." Dean grinned.

Buffy glared at Dean, "You've got to be kidding me" she rearranged the bags on her shoulders and huffed. Dean shrugged his shoulders, "Sorry." He said, though he didn't really sound sorry, and turned his back and headed for their room. Buffy glared at the back of his head and thought of breaking one of his hands, which would be very easy for her, before sighing and following Dean with Sam chuckling behind her. "You two are like children" she heard him mumble.

Entering the motel room Buffy threw all the bags on the floor beside the beds and stretched her arms. Dean stayed next to the front door and waited for Sam to drop the last of the bags. "So we'll be back in a few hours, you might want to grab something to eat I dont know when we'll get back."

Buffy stop stretching and turned around to see Dean looking at her, she looked from Sam to Dean then raised her eyebrows, "What? You're going back without me? I don't think so" she protested.

Dean sighed and Sam smiled, somehow she knew that Sam knew she'd kick up, "Look we're just going to check out the video tape, you're not really needed for that"

Buffy scowled at Dean, "What do you mean I'm not needed for that?" She asked through gritted teeth. With her hands on her hips she walked towards Dean, she saw Sam move a few meters away from her with a smile that looked like he was ready to laugh his ass off, whose eyes grew wide and had a look of instant regret on his face. Buffy stood in front of him so close she could see the faint scars on his face, her scowl not moving.

"Are you telling me that you're just using me for my abilities?" she asked in an oddly calm voice, "Are you trying to tell me that the only time you want me around is when I have to save your ass?!" her voice raised a few decibels. "I'm not sitting around here waiting for you to find something. I may be useful but you would never know if I dont come along so if you dont like the idea I'd like to see you try to stop me." When she finished she stared Dean out for a couple of seconds before giving a smile. "I'll be in the car." She said and ran out the motel.

Dean and Sam both looked at each other and let out the breath they were holding. "She's such a bitch." Dean growled. Sam laughed and patted his brother on the arm as they left the motel room, "I'm just glad that she likes me." He laughed. Dean glared at Sam as they got to the car where Buffy was already in the back seat. "This is gonna be a long drive." Dean groaned before getting in the Impala.

When they got back to Rebecca's house it was almost dark. They didn't waste time round hers; they said hellos and made small conversation before Dean got impatient and wanted to see the tape. Rebecca put on the video in the lounge; Rebecca sat on the arm of the sofa whereas Buffy, Sam and Dean all stood. Sam fast forwarded the video until it reached ten pm.

"Here he comes." Rebecca said after a few minutes of them watching the front of Zack's house.

They watched as a man, which Buffy recognised from the photos in Zack's house, enter through the front door. "22:04, that's just after ten. You said time of death was about 10:30." Dean stated.

Rebecca nodded, "Our lawyers hired some kind of video expert. He says the tape's authentic. It wasn't tampered with." She said sadly.

Sam turned around with a small smile, "Hey, Beck, can we take those beers now?"

A little surprised Rebecca got up, "Oh, sure." She said as she started to the kitchen.

"Hey." She turned around when Sam spoke again, "Maybe some sandwiches, too?"

Rebecca scoffed, "What do you think this is, Hooters?" she laughed as she went to the kitchen.

Dean groaned happily, "I wish." He sighed then turned to Sam, "What is it?"

"Check this out." As Sam rewound the tape Buffy stood on the other side of Sam, she watched as he replayed part of the tape back. The frame showed Zack looking directly into the camera which showed a silver flare in his eyes which sent shivers down Buffy's spine. Sam paused the tape on the silver eyes.

Dean shrugged, "Well, maybe it's just a camera flare."

"That's not like any camera flare I've ever seen." Sam stated then after a second of thinking he said, "You know, a lot of cultures believe that a photograph can catch a glimpse of the soul."

"Right." Dean said like he couldn't believe he never thought of it.

"Remember that dog that was freakin' out? Maybe he saw this thing. Maybe this is some kind of dark double of Zack's, something that looks like him but isn't him." Sam continued.

"Like a Doppelganger" Buffy piped up.

Sam turned to Buffy with a shocked expression on his face and Dean did the same a second later, "What? I'm not allowed to know stuff?" Buffy shrugged.

Seeing their eyebrows rise, waiting for an explanation, she sighed, "Back in Sunnydale my best friend accidently let her Doppelganger out of the alternate dimension she was in. So I read up on it." She explained.

After a minute of silence Buffy cleared her throat, "So it could be a Doppelganger?" she asked to get them both back on track.

Sam thought for a second, "Yeah. It'd sure explain how he was two places at once."

Buffy smiled smugly that the countless boring research Giles made her do for 'training' actually paid off. Then as she thought her smile faltered, "So how do we find it?"

Nobody said anything, unable to answer, until Rebecca came back with the beers and a few sandwiches, Dean told her that he had seen enough of the video and that he was thinking up a conclusion but he couldnt share it at the time. After the beers and Rebecca and Sam reminiscing about college they left around midnight.

Buffy and Dean fought over one of the beds in their motel for half an hour, Dean thought it was only fair she should sleep on the couch at least once and Buffy thought it was gentlemanly to let the woman have the bed, but knowing Dean he wasn't giving up. Eventually Sam decided that she could have his bed and he would have the couch.

"See, _that's_ a gentleman" Buffy stated as she got into bed. Dean just grunted at her and whacked Sam who was showing off his best grin at his brother.

----

Buffy woke before it was even light outside. She noticed Sam was gone from the couch and she turned her head to see Dean still asleep, a small frown and his mouth slightly open, stepping out of bed the motel door suddenly opened. Grabbing the nearest thing to her, her curling iron, she held it up as someone came inside. As soon as Sam saw Buffy with the curing iron in her hands he laughed.

"Good morning to you too" he laughed as he shut the door behind him and held up a tray of coffee and a brown paper bag, "I come baring gifts." He smiled.

When Buffy realised it was Sam she let out a breath and put down the curling iron, "Jeez, you scared the crap outta me! You always arrive when I've just woken up, it's kinda scary."

Sam laughed when he placed the coffees and the bag on the kitchen table, "I think you just smell the coffee coming."

Buffy wrapped her blue silk house coat over herself and walked over to the table and picked up a coffee, taking off the plastic lid and blowing on the steaming cup before speaking. "So, what you doing up and out so early?"

Sam pulled out some bagels from the brown bag and handed one to Buffy and shrugged. "I couldn't sleep I guess." He said without looking at her, "It's just..." he started to say as he got his own coffee and scoffed as he put the cup to his lips, "never mind, forget I said anything." He mumbled and took a long swig off his coffee and Buffy winced and thought he must have a tin throat for the steaming coffee.

Buffy sat on one of the chairs beside Sam and bit into the bagel, "No what is it? What's up?" when he didn't say anything for a while Buffy kicked him lightly with her leg, "Listen, I'm not here to lecture or give advice, and I'm not your brother so I won't be disappointed or whatever your afraid he'll be if you tell him whatever is on your mind... Plus I can keep a secret, being a Slayer and hiding it from your mother for three years it's kind of easy." She laughed at the end to lighten the serious mood that occurred.

Sam gave her a little smile and took another swig of his coffee, "Well, as you've twisted my arm, it's just been bad dreams really. I don't remember them but they are getting more and more frequent."

Buffy nodded, "I know the feeling." Many a time had Buffy been woken up from her 'Visions of what's to come' courtesy of her Slayer heritage. Though she'd never had many when she was in Sunnydale, the odd now and again, but she was also frequently waking up due to nightmares but she never thought anything of them as they didn't seem supernatural. Buffy drained the rest of her coffee while she was inside her own thoughts and when Sam spoke up again she ate the rest of her bagel.

"I know it's stupid to hide them from Dean, I mean they're just dreams right? He'll just think I'm over exaggerating anyway." He said half-jokingly as he bit into a bagel.

Buffy swallowed her bagel and raised an eyebrow, "I think you underestimate your brother. He could surprise you."

Sam smirked, "What, because he's nice to you? That's because he wants you, not because he's nice."

Buffy didn't know what way to take Sam's comment; was that a dig at her? Or at Dean? Before she could ask there was a stir from the bed and Dean sat up; his hair spiking out in every direction and a sleepy pout on his face, scratching his head he asked "Is that coffee I can smell?"  
"And bagels" Buffy said, getting up and popping the last of her bagel into her mouth, she passed Dean as he got up and slid into the seat she just left and took a coffee.

"Bagels? I get bird food for breakfast?" He grunted at his brother as he took a long drink of his coffee. Sam sighed and pulled out a large polystyrene box from the bag, "I think I know you better than to give you bagels for breakfast." He smirked when Dean's face lit up to see the fry up inside the box and dug in. Buffy picked out a few clothing items from her wardrobe, taking careful attention to accessories and shoes then headed to the bathroom. A few minutes later she came out wearing black jeans, a lilac sweater, black pointy boots, an amethyst cross necklace and a matching bracelet. Again, she wore her hair down in loose curls and her face made up in light natural makeup. When she remerged Dean was already dressed and had his jacket on still drinking his coffee and Sam was throwing the rubbish in the trash.

"Where are we going?" She asked as she picked up her denim jacket and stuffed her purse into the inside pocket.

"I just want to relook around Zack's apartment and street; I think I have a hunch." Sam said as he opened the door and left.

Dean looked out at the sky as he left the motel, "Couldn't this hunch have waited until it was at least daylight? Why do we have to go check it out at-" his eyes widened as he looked at his watch, "Five-thirty?!"

Buffy shoved Dean further out the motel and locked up behind them and she laughed as Dean grumbled all the way to the car.

----

As they headed to Zack's Sam didn't say anything the whole way and Buffy wondered why they had left so early just to check outside his house. Dean parked the Impala around the back of Zack's house and into a large alley, getting out Buffy wished she'd brought a thicker jacket and shivered as Dean took his coffee from the dashboard and walked slowly around the front of the car, "Alright, so what are we doin' here at 5:30 in the morning?" he asked as Sam started to look around the alley.

"I realized something. The videotape shows the killer going' in, but not coming' out."

"So, he came out the back door?" Dean asked as he leant on the hood of the impala, Buffy followed but propped herself up so her feet hung off the floor.

"Right. So, there should be a trail to follow. A trail the police would never pursue." Sam continued as he searched through bins and under rocks and anywhere else the police wouldn't have looked.

"'Cause they think the killer never left. And they caught your friend Zack inside." Buffy added, keeping up with the conversation. She heard Dean sigh beside her, he raised his coffee to his lips as he spoke, "I still don't know what we're doin' here at five-thirty in the morning." Buffy smiled at him but Sam just carried on examining the alley, eventually Sam found something on a telephone pole and he gave an 'I told you so' smile to Dean. "Blood. Somebody came this way."

Dean and Buffy headed to Sam and examined the bloodstain on the telephone pole then looked around at the surrounding area, "Yeah, but the trail ends. I don't see anything over here." Dean said just as his voice was carried away by the wailing ambulance that drove past them. All three exchanged a quick look before following the ambulance on foot. They got there just as an Asian man was handcuffed and taken into a police car while a woman was being wheeled out in a stretcher; it looked like she'd been in a fight with Edward Scissorhands her face and body was cut up so badly. All three stood as far back as they could without looking like they wanted to see what had happened but close enough to see the extent of the woman's wounds.

Dean glanced at the coloured woman stood besides wearing jogging attire, "What happened?"

The woman glanced up at Dean then looked back at the crime scene, "He tried to kill his wife. Tied her up and beat her."

"Really?" Sam, Buffy and Dean exchanged looks as the woman nodded, "I used to see him going to work in the morning. He'd wave, say hello. He seemed like such a nice guy."

A couple of hours later, when the police and the ambulance left and finally all the pedestrians had moved on Buffy and Sam checked out the outside of the house of the man just taken away while Dean talked to some officers. Buffy checked around the side of the house and Sam checked the garbage cans around the front of the house. Buffy came around the front as Sam examined the last garbage can, "Well there's nothing out of the ordinary around back, nothing seems to have come in or out from the back." She explained as she came beside him. Sam sighed and shut the garbage can lid, "Same here."

"Hey." They both turned around to see Dean coming round from the back, "Remember when I said this wasn't our kind of problem?"

Buffy nodded, "Yeah." Sam said.

Dean lifted his hand and pointed a finger, "Definitely our kind of problem."

"What'd you find out?" Buffy asked with raised eyes.

"Well, I just talked to the patrolman who was first on the scene, heard this guy, Alex's story. Apparently the dude was driving home from a business trip when his wife was attacked." Dean explained.

"So, he was two places at once." Sam stated as he thought.

Dean smiled slightly, "Exactly. Then he sees himself in the house, police think he's a nut job."

"So what it's two doppelganger's attacking loved ones in exactly the same way?" Buffy asked. Something about it didn't make sense to her.

Dean shook his head, "Could be the same thing doin' it, too." He looked at both Buffy and Sam.

Sam spoke up first, "Shape shifter? Something that can make itself look like anyone?" he looked at Dean who shrugged then to Buffy who did the same.

"Every culture in the world has shape shifter lore. You know legends of creatures who can transform themselves into animals or other men." Dean spoke like he was reciting from his father's journal.

Sam nodded, "Right, skin walkers, werewolves."

"We've got two attacks within blocks of each other. I'm guessin' we've got a shape shifter prowling' the neighbourhood." Dean said.

Sam thought for a second then looked up at the sky, "Let me ask you this—in all this shape shifter lore, can any of them fly?"

Dean shrugged, "Not that I know of."

Sam looked over at the side of the house, "I picked up a trail here. Someone ran out the back of this building and headed off this way."

"Just like your friend's house." Buffy stated and Sam nodded.

"Yeah. And, just like at Zack's house, the trail suddenly ends. I mean, whatever it is just disappeared." Sam sighed and he and Dean both looked up at the sky.

Buffy laughed to herself and shook her head, for guys that had been in this business longer than her they weren't that bright. Buffy cleared her throat. "Well, there's another way to go" Buffy looked at the confused faces of the boys, she looked straight at them, put a hand on her hip and pointed at the manhole she was standing on, "Down."

Both boys looked at the manhole and Buffy laughed. "My god! A flying shape shifter! Now I've heard everything!" she giggled as Dean pushed her off the manhole and started to take the lid off.

Grunting a couple of times he let go and looked at Sam, "We're gonna need something to open this."

Sam headed to the car while Dean continued to pry the manhole cover free.

Buffy kicked him with her knee, "Move out the way" she said as she moved him from the manhole, and Dean stood up and looked at her quizzically as Sam came up behind him with some kind of metal contraption that probably opens up manholes.

Buffy put her hand over the bar on the manhole and gave it a couple of tugs, she saw Dean smirk thinking she couldnt get it off and she raised an eyebrow and with one huge tug she lifted up the metal manhole cover like it was a pillowcase and set it on the pavement. Seeing the looks on their faces she smiled, "We could have done it your way but mine way is much faster" she started down the manhole and looked up at them, "Come on!"

They followed her down eventually, bringing flashlights with them, taking one from Dean she followed them further into the sewer, letting Dean and Sam go infront and her keeping back and watching out for all the slime that gathered on the walls and pipes. She suddenly wished she could go home and change.

"I bet this runs right by Zack's house, too." Sam's voice reverberated off the wall, "The shape shifter could be using the sewer system to get around."

"I think you're right." Dean stopped, Sam carried on walking, but Buffy didn't notice till she nearly toppled over him. "Look at this." He said after Buffy steadied herself. Sam walked back to them and all three bent down to see a pile of blood and skin on the floor. Sam and Dean looked ready to puke whereas Buffy, even though she looked disgusted, she didn't look like she was about to pass out (like Sam) or be sick (like Dean).

"Is this from his victims?" Both Buffy and Sam asked, Sam sounding like he was controlling his breathing before he passes out, and Buffy sounding like it was nothing she hadn't seen before. Well it wasn't counting the Sunnydale High swim team all shed their skin and turned into fish and she did witness a few shed skins. Dean poked his pocketknife in the gloop and held up some of the skin.

"You know, I just had a sick thought. When the shape shifter changes shape—maybe it sheds." Dean said as he put the bloody pile back on the ground.

Sam scrunched his face up like he was holding back bile, "That is sick."

"You just thought that now?" Buffy asked. She thought he would have been faster on the uptake than that. Buffy saw the look Dean was giving her and she smiled slightly, "So... What do we do now?"

Dean got up and wiped the gloop on Sam's jacket before putting it back into his pocket. "We need weapons." He said as he squeezed past Buffy and back up the ladder and out the manhole.

Buffy turned to Sam, "Please tell me you figured out the whole shedding skin thing as soon as you saw the mess?"

Sam headed for the ladder then turned to look at Buffy, "I don't like to be right all the time. I gotta let him have one" he smiled. Buffy laughed as she followed Sam out of the manhole and back up to the street where the Impala was waiting, Dean was already with his head inside the trunk as they got out and Buffy put the cover back over the hole, leaving a gap so the boys could easily push it away.

---

When she reached the boys Sam was answering his cell phone and Dean was filling up guns with bullets.

"I thought it was a shape shifter?" she asked.

Dean looked over at her, "it is a shape shifter."

Buffy pointed to the gun in his hand, "then why are you filling a gun with silver bullets? I thought that was for werewolves?"

Dean smirked and giggled before shaking his head and he thought of putting it in a way she would understand, "You know how people say we were monkey's that evolved into humans? Well it's kind of the same thing, but it being that the shape shifters are evolved werewolves. So what can kill a werewolf can kill a shape shifter." When he finished he cocked his gun for effect and handed it to her. Buffy looked at him like he was holding out a bomb. Dean thrust it to her again, "Take it, it won't bite"

Buffy shook her head and Dean raised an eyebrow, "You're not telling me you've never used a gun?"

"Only a tranquiliser gun; I've never had a need to use a gun, me and guns dont go well" Buffy explained.

"Well your gonna have to get used to it." Dean said as he spun her around and placed the gun in the waistband of her black jeans and she jumped at the guns coldness. Dean leant into her, "Just make do with it for now and I'll teach you how to shoot properly later." He whispered into her ear as he let her go. Buffy gulped and her skin felt hot against the cold of the gun and when she turned around she smirked at Dean, "Good, then I can show you how to fight properly."

Dean laughed then held out a hand, "It's a deal"

Buffy shook his hand, "Deal."

Buffy heard Sam scoff in the distance, both Buffy and Dean looked over at him; he was stood a few feet away but his voice was quite loud. By the looks of him he wasn't happy with whatever the person on the other end was saying. "Why would you do that?" Buffy heard him say too clearly, his voice was getting louder and louder.

"Beck—"

At the sound of the name Buffy looked at Dean who wore an 'I told you so' expression on his face as he listened to Sam's side of their conversation.

Sam sighed into his cell phone, "we're trying' to help." He said more calmly and he sat on the hood of the Impala. "Beck, I'm sorry, but—" He was cut off and he sighed as he removed the phone from his ear and hung up.

Dean left Buffy's side and headed to his brother, "I hate to say it, but that's exactly what I'm talking' about. You lie to your friends because if they knew the real you, they'd be freaked. It's just—it'd be easier if—"

Sam looked at Dean with a depressed smile, "If I was like you."

Dean raised his eyebrows, "Hey, man, like it or not, we are not like other people. But I'll tell you one thing. This whole gig—it aint without perks." He held up a gun and smiled, Sam smiled also and took the gun and put it in the back of his jeans and he and Dean rounded to the car doors and Buffy stood by her side of the door.

----

Dean drove them back to the motel and he instantly fell back to sleep when he fell onto his bed, this gave Buffy the perfect opportunity to get more acquainted with her gun. She wasn't a fan of guns, they weren't her choice of weaponry but this is what the boys do so she'd have to get used to it. After all some things she can't use all her strength. One thing Buffy was sure was that she was getting sloppy, since she left Sunnydale she hadn't really trained – usually the constant stream of vampires was enough but she hadn't encountered even one since she left and she hadn't even trained like she used to in the magic box almost every day and she was starting to feel it. Especially how the boys travel in their car all the time and eat nothing but fast food she had to start training soon before she gets fat and slow.

"Where you going?" Sam asked when Buffy headed for the door. Sam was sat at the table with his laptop open searching up Shape shifters on the net. Buffy shrugged, "Just going for a walk."

Sam just nodded, "Okay, see you later"

Dean finally woke around two in the afternoon, groggily sitting up he saw Sam sat on the spare bed reading a book. Looking around the room Buffy wasn't in sight. "Where's Blondie?"

Sam looked up from his book and shrugged, "She went for a walk just after you collapsed and she hasn't come back yet. I figure she's shopping or something."

Dean thought for a moment then got up and left the motel and headed to the reception, there was a large beefy, greasy man sat behind the desk smoking a cigar and watching a movie on TV with very bad reception.

"Hey I'm looking for a girl that was with us... she's blonde about this tall?" Dean signalled Buffy's height by holding his hand, palm facing the floor, and held his hand up to his shoulder.

The guy behind the desk smiled, "Oh yeah, how could anyone forget that hot ass..." he said with a gritty voice then started coughing up his cigar smoke.

Dean raised an eyebrow and shook his head, "You see where she went?"

The guy nodded and flicked his cigar in the ashtray, "Yeah, she came in here and asked for another room – I gave her the one next to you – then she headed into town. Came back about two hours ago with a lot of heavy lookin' shit. How someone that small could carry all that's a mystery." He shook his head then puffed on his cigar.

Dean looked over at his motel then looked at the one next to it, it had the 'do not disturb' sign on it. "That one?" Dean asked him and pointed to the motel.

Smokey nodded so Dean thanked him and left the reception desk and headed for the motel when Buffy was supposedly in. Standing outside the door he could hear music that he wasn't familiar with. At least it wasn't pop... it was still quite heavy it just wasn't classic rock which he was familiar with. Knocking a few times there was no response so he twisted the door knob and checked to see if it was locked. It wasn't. The door opened and Dean peered his head through and found Buffy's back to him, she was dressed in light grey sweat pants and a white vest top, her golden hair was pinned into a ponytail and just by looking at her back she had been sweating a lot. She was stood in front of a large punch bag and was repeatedly punching the bag which moved a lot with every punch. Moving closer he could see her from the side, her face looked controlled and focused – like whenever dean was doing target practise or Sam was researching. Dean called her a couple of times over the music but when she didn't respond he placed a hand on her shoulder, he felt her jump under his touch and she instinctively spun around and backhanded him in the face. The impact felt like she broke his jaw and he stumbled backwards a couple of steps. When Buffy realised it was Dean, shock filled her face and she stopped the music on the CD player by the bed. "Dean!? How did you know I was here?" She asked him when he stopped stumbling.

Dean sighed and pointed to the clock on the bedside table, "I asked Smokey Joe at the front desk if he saw you. It's midday we didn't know where you were." He sighed as he sat down on the bed and rubbed his jaw where she hit him. Buffy went to the sink and damped a dishcloth then gave it to Dean to put on his face.

"Sorry, I didn't realise it was so late." She said as she handed the cloth over.

Dean took the cloth then looked behind her at the punch bag, "What you doing?"

Buffy looked at the bag behind her, "Training."

When she turned back and saw the 'a superhero train?' look on his face she elaborated, "Back home I used to train almost every day with my watcher and I haven't since I've been with you guys. And I haven't really fought anything for a long time so this will keep my frustrations intact."

Dean couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and smile at her, "Intact huh?"

Buffy rolled her eyes and poked his face and he grimaced, "Not that kind of frustration. My violence toward innocent people will be lower."

Dean stood up, "So you'll stop being a bitch to me now you're doing whatever your doing?"

Buffy smiled; "Never" she said as she unwound the fabric she had wrapped around both hands then looked to Dean who was staring at her, "can I help you?"

Dean rolled his eyes, "You gonna be any longer cause I'm starving." He said and rubbed his stomach with his free hand and looked at her with a mock puppy face.

Buffy sighed, "Let me shower then we can go" she said as she headed to the bathroom.

When she shut the door behind her Dean examined the punch bag – noticing the several dents she'd already left in it. He threw the cloth over to the kitchen sink then gave the punch bag one huge punch, the bag barely moved and Dean shook his hand. "Son of a bitch!" He whispered as he shook his hand. Taking one last glare at the punch bag Dean left the motel room and back into his own.

----

Twenty minutes later Buffy was back at the boy's motel room and they headed out for something to eat before Dean 'dies of starvation'. After the many hours of watching Dean it practically everything on the menu – except the healthy stuff – and it made Buffy full just by watching him the eventually decided to head back to the house of the second guy and into the sewer to find the shape shifter. Sam walked in front with his flashlight and gun, Buffy was in the middle with only a gun as her Slayer powers gave her good eyesight, and Dean walked at the back with both a gun and flashlight. They were just turning the first corner in the sewer when Dean spoke up.

"I think we're close to its lair." He whispered.

"Why do you say that?" Sam stopped and turned his flashlight around the corner so he could see well.

"Because there's another puke-inducing pile next to your face." He replied breathily like he was trying to keep his earlier food down.

Sam turned and saw another pile of blood and skin on the large pipe above his head, "Oh, God!" He said disgusted.

Buffy turned her head and saw Dean still grimacing, "Now don't you wish you ate afterwards?" she smiled when he glared at her then pointed past Sam, "Looks like it's lived here for a while."

Buffy and Sam looked over to the corner he was pointing too and saw a small pile of clothes.

Sam sighed and shook his head, "Who knows how many murders he's gotten away with?" he said turning around to face Buffy and Dean and spotted the shape shifter – still in the form of the Asian man – walking towards Dean.

"Dean!" he yelled to get him to move but instead Dean turned around and he was punched by the shape shifter and he fell to the ground. Instinctively Buffy pulled a roundhouse kick and kicked the shifter in the face and he too went down. Buffy stood in her usual fighting stance and waited for the shifter to get back up and fight but instead the shifter spun his leg out and tripped her to the ground and ran off out of the sewer. Sam shot after the shifter but missed him then moved to check his brother.

"Get the son of a bitch!" Dean yelled and pushed his brother who ran off after him. Buffy got up off the floor and coughed.

"You okay?" she asked as she got up.

Dean nodded and slowly got up, "Follow him, and make sure he doesn't get hurt. I'll follow." He told her.

Buffy nodded once and ran after Sam, coming out of a manhole smack in the middle of a busy street, she found Sam at the top looking around.

"Where did it go?" She asked as she reached Sam.

He looked around the street for any sign of the shifter and shook his head, "I don't know."

Dean finally reached them a few seconds later, breathing heavily and looked around.

"All right, let's split up."Sam said to Buffy and Dean.

Dean nodded, "All right, I'll meet you around the other side."

Buffy and Sam nodded then they all went off in different directions. Buffy headed right into the public, figuring that's where the shifter would go to hide from them, whereas Dean and Sam headed for the back streets and alleyways. Buffy searched for over half an hour and she never found the shifter so she decided to try and find the boys but they weren't where they said they would meet up. Finding the nearest payphone she dialled Sam's number that she remembered from her head but after trying three times he never answered. After the last try she left him a voicemail to say she was heading back to the motel and that she'd be in the room she rented out as Dean had the only key to the other room.

---

Buffy woke the next morning and tried Sam's cell phone again but there was still no answer, she even tried Dean's cell but there was no answer on his either. After showering and changing she headed next door to see if they were both still sleeping. Knocking on their door a few times Sam usually answered but nobody answered this time, Buffy looked around before twisting the door knob all the way around so it broke the lock and opened the door. When she entered the room looked the same way it did when she was there the day before. She called for both of the boys but there was no answer. Trying to think where they would be she decided to check out the sewer first to see if they had gone back down again.

Buffy entered the sewer through the way she came out of the night earlier she found the gun Dean gave her in the same spot she dropped it when the shifter tripped her up, picking it up and holding it out in front of her – like an FBI agent in the American TV shows – and slowly rounded the corner of the sewer and found what she imagined was the shifter's lair: piles of clothes all over the place, some men's and some women's, along with piles of skin, some rope, and some very messy looking sharp objects that looked like they could cause some serious pain. Looking at them closer they were stained with blood from the earlier incidences; she also found some guns she thought may belong to Sam and Dean. Taking the guns, and realising there was nobody here, she headed back out the sewer and to the motel to see if she could find clues on anywhere else they could be.

When she got back to the motel she knew that one of them had been home. Clothes were strewn across the floor that wasn't their when she left and looking at them closely it seemed that it was Dean that had been back and gotten changed. Buffy couldnt think of anywhere else that they could be, on her way back she walked to Rebecca's house but nobody answered and she wasn't breaking in as it looked like nobody was home. She tried their cell phones again but there was no answer and not only was it starting to annoy her, she was getting worried about them too. Buffy was still snooping for clues of their whereabouts when she heard a banging outside the motel, peeking out she saw the fat, greasy guy with the pipe banging on the door to the room she rented out.

"Can I help you?" Buffy asked as she poked her head out into the hallway.

When he noticed her he smiled like he was thinking dirty thoughts about her, "I need you out the room. I gots a couple needin' a room and you don't seem to be usin' it." He bellowed in his loud gravelly voice.

Buffy sneered and came out into the hallway, "Give me ten minutes to pack up my stuff then they can have it." She said as she went inside the room and instantly shivered at being too close to 'Smokey Joe' as Dean called him. Ten minutes later there was banging on the door again and Buffy answered it carrying the punch bag on one shoulder and all the accessories – the chains to hang it and the fabric she wore around her hands, and her sweat clothes – in the other. The owner gave her a bit of a look as she chucked the keys at him and smiled to the couple behind him. When she dumped the stuff into the other room she finally had a thought and poked her head out the door just in time to see the owner walking past the door.

"Excuse me but have you seen my friends at all today?" She called to him.

The greasy owner turned around and thought for a moment as he sucked on his cigar. Buffy just noticed that he was wearing the same stained clothes as yesterday. "Nah, haven't seen 'em since ya'll went out last night." He explained.

Buffy nodded, "Kay thanks, but if you see either of them-"

He cut her off mid sentence, "Actually I did see one of them boys earlier today, and I thought he was with you actually as I saw him with a blonde."

"What time was that?" Buffy looked at the clock inside the room, it was nearing on six P.M.

He coughed his lungs up for a couple of seconds. "Er.... I'd say a few hours ago. Not long after you left actually. You must've passed each other."

Buffy sighed and pressed at her temples, "Great." She whispered then smiled at the owner, "Thanks anyway." She sighed again and slammed the door behind her going back inside.

She leant against the door and sighed heavily, "I give up!" she yelled at the ceiling before rebuilding the punch bag and changing for training.

Buffy stopped taking her anger/annoyance/worry on the punch bag a couple of hours later and her muscles ached. She was more out of shape than she thought she was and her muscles ached and her bones creaked as she changed into her grey housecoat and started filling the bath with warm water.

---

"Buffy!?"

Buffy poked her head out of the bathroom to find Dean standing in the middle of the room out of breath. At first she smiled at the fact he was still alive and she was worrying for nothing but then her smile faded and she scowled at him.

"Where the hell have you and Sam been? I haven't seen you guys for almost a day." She yelled in the bathroom as she shut off the water.

Dean was still in the centre of the room when she came out of the bathroom, a little smile playing at his lips. "Yeah, we, uh, kinda got kidnapped by the shifter and it went after Rebecca but luckily we got out before it did any damage."

Buffy instantly felt guilty and she pouted and sat on the edge of the bed, "Well one of you could have called me to let me know." She said like a five year old.

Dean laughed and sat beside her, "Sorry. I was just checking you're okay."

"I'm fine. Where's Sam?" Buffy asked, her cheeks reddening at the way Dean was looking at her.

"He's keeping an eye on Rebecca. Making sure the shifter doesn't come after her again."

Buffy nodded silently then stiffened when she felt Dean's hand on her back rubbing small circles, "What're you doing?" she asked so quietly she could barely hear herself talk.

Dean smiled coyly and leant closer to her, "Nothing you haven't thought about yourself." He chuckled.

Buffy got up off the bed laughing and kept her back to Dean, her mind was reeling: _What the hell has he been taking?!_

"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked still with her back to him, unable to look at him.

She felt him stand behind her and stroke her neck, "Come on, you and I both know we want each other. I can't stop thinking about you and you can't stop thinking about me."

Buffy squirmed till his hand was gone and she turned around, "I think you should go. I was getting ready to have a bath and you've pissed me off. Let yourself out." She said so calmly Buffy didn't recognise the voice as her own. Demons, vampires, anything that goes bump in the night Buffy could handle, but when a guy that she cares about acting strange and coming onto her scared her more than anything.

Buffy went back to the bathroom and calmed herself down and turned the water back on then she heard footsteps behind her and when she turned Dean was stood in the doorway with a smile on his face.

"Aww come on Buffy, no point in hiding it," Dean was so close to her now there was barely an inch between them, "I can see it in your eyes you want me."

Buffy closed her eyes and shook her head, "No. I dont know where you got this idea in your head but... stop it."

Dean pressed himself to her and put his hands around her waist. "Dean, I said no." Buffy said as she resisted and tried to get out of his grasp.

Dean chuckled, and Buffy thought she heard him growl too, and pulled at her waist again, "You know you want to, just give in." He cooed as Buffy continued to resist and pull away with only Dean to pull her back. Buffy knew there was something going on; he was stronger than he has ever been around her. Dean pulled at her gown so it opened slightly and he put a hand inside her robe and began groping her.

"Dean! Stop. It. What's wrong with you?!" She said, her voice trembling.

Dean stopped and looked at her; his face was contorted in a snarl, "What's wrong with me? What the hell is wrong with you?!" He yelled and pushed her.

The strength of the push was enough for Buffy to fall back at the impact, she knew she was going to fall so she reached out for the shower curtain but it ripped off the pole as she fell and her back hit the edge of the porcelain tub and she screamed in pain. As she was screaming in pain Dean straddled her and held her down by placing her arms over her head and he tried to kiss her as she tried to break free.

"Let it go Buffy. Just give in."

Buffy sobbed as Dean continued to pull at her clothing and groping her, kissing along her face neck and chest, and she repeatedly asked him to stop.

"Get off!" Buffy cried and she was able to pull her knees underneath him and pushed him away enough for her to scramble onto her stomach and crawl back into the bedroom where the guns were. She knew this wasn't the Dean Winchester she had been with. This was the shape shifter. She needed to kill him. Or he'll kill her. She managed to crawl as far as the bathroom opening before the Shifter Dean caught her ankle and dragged her back enough to flip her over and pin her again.

"No, ow! Ow! Stop! Oww!" Buffy sobbed as the weight he was pressing on her was making the white hot pain in her back so strong she could hardly see.

"I know you want me Buffy. I want you too. Just give it to me." Dean said over her crying as he continued to try and remove her clothing as she struggled underneath him and in the process her robe was ripped at the shoulder.

Buffy didn't know what came over her but she knew throughout that this... thing on her wasn't Dean but by the way he was talking to her confirmed that it wasn't him and that gave her enough anger over her fear for her to use all her slayer strength to shove him off.

"Stop!" She yelled and with all the strength in her she pushed Shifter Dean off her with her knees and he flew back and crashed into the sink and wall. "You're not Dean." Buffy yelled as she got up and ran for the guns she left by the motel door. But the shifter was faster than she expected and it tripped her up as she reached the middle of the room and he straddled her again.

"You just couldn't shut up could you? You had to go and spoil it." The Shifter in Dean's form said as he tried to pin her again but Buffy head butted him and flipped herself up when he fell backwards.

"I don't know what you were expecting from me but you should know I'm not like the other girls you could torture." Buffy said as she stood in her fighting stance.

The shifter got up and growled and kicked out, which Buffy was able to block but the shifter reached for her robe and pulled her to him and he held her in a choke hold.

"I thought you of all people would understand me!" The shifter screamed into Buffy's ear, "We're both different from everyone else; we have to fight to survive"

Buffy coughed under the choke hold, "I'm nothing like you, you freak!" Buffy screamed and pulled at the arm choking her and bent forward and flipped the shifter over her. When the shifter got back up he held a large knife and sighed. "Guess I'm just going to have to kill you like the rest of them." He stated and lunged at Buffy.

She dodged the knife and held the hand that had the knife at the wrists and kneed him in the gut then held his arm out horizontally and kneed the arm and the shifter cried out when its arm snapped and it dropped the knife. The shifter kicked her in the stomach and Buffy stumbled backwards and the shifter ran for her and punched at her, most of them she blocked and got her own punches in but she could taste blood when he hit her in the face. When she disoriented him enough with a punch she stood back a bit and roundhouse kicked him so he fell flat on his face and she ran for the guns that were dumped at the door. She was just quick enough to pick up the black gun that Dean gave her yesterday morning when the shifter tackled her to the ground and the gun fell out of her hands. The shifter grabbed at her throat and squeezed so hard she was seeing dots and she could feel herself getting drowsy as she tried to pry his hand off her.

"Hey!" Buffy heard when the front door slammed open and whoever it was it was enough to shock the shifter into loosening its grip enough for Buffy to cough and get her sight back. Dean and Sam were stood at the front door, Dean held out a gun pointed at the shifter.

The shifter slowly stood up and picked Buffy up by the throat and held her infront of him, like a shield, "What you going to do Dean? Shot her to shot me? You and I both know you won't harm her." The shifter pressed his cheek to hers and she heard him sniffing and she felt his hands running up her thigh, "you won't harm this beautiful, strong, sexy creature. Remember, I know exactly how you think... and feel"

Buffy saw Dean hesitate with the gun, "Dean just shot!" she called but he still wouldn't.

She could feel the shifter laughing and she could hear the familiar laugh escaping its lips, Buffy used this as an opportunity and slammed her heel into its foot and – even though he was wearing boots and she was barefoot – the shifter cried out and Buffy elbowed him in the ribs and when he let her go she dived for the gun still on the floor, did a James Bond style role and pulled the trigger. She shot the shifter right in the chest, this was enough to shock the shifter and to shock the real Dean still beside the door and he finally pulled the trigger and shot the shifter right in the head.

When the shifter fell to the ground Buffy dropped her gun and all the adrenalin she'd used to save herself vanished and she shook all over and sobbed, pulling the ripped robe around her. Sam knelt beside her and hugged Buffy as she cried while Dean got rid of the body.

-----

Buffy didn't know what happened afterwards, she vaguely remembered getting dressed before falling asleep with Sam at her side and Dean watching her from a distance. The next thing she knew she was waking inside the impala. Buffy rolled onto her stomach, groaning at the sharp pain in her back as she moved, and looked out of the window to see Sam stood with Rebecca by the door of her house, despite the cut Buffy could clearly see on her face Rebecca looked good for someone who was tortured.

She watched as she and Sam hugged for a second then Rebecca waved over to the car then headed back inside her house.

"So, what about your friend, Zack?" Buffy heard Dean say, when she looked around she saw Dean's torso through the driver's window. Sam stopped walking when he got to the passenger side.

"Cops are blaming' this Dean Winchester guy for Emily's murder. They found the murder weapon in the guy's lair, Zack's clothes stained with her blood. Now they're thinking maybe the surveillance tape was tampered with. Yeah, Becca says Zack will be released soon."

When they both opened the doors Buffy quickly placed her head back onto the seat and shut her eyes. She heard the engine kick up and the car pull out the driveway.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Buffy heard Dean whisper though he wasn't very quiet.

There was a groan as someone moved on the leather seat, "I guess, I mean she's tough-"

"No I mean around me? I mean that thing tried to rape her while it looked like me. Now whenever she'll look at me that's what she will see." He sighed.

There was a long awkward silence that Buffy thought she had to break by 'waking up' so she did her best half asleep sitting up thing. Sam smiled when he saw her slowly sitting up. "Welcome back."

Buffy looked out the window, "We're going? What about Rebecca?"

Sam laughed, "We've just came from there, you've been out of it for almost a day."

Buffy raised her brows, "Oh."

Moving her feet off the seat she twist brought the pain into her back and she groaned, "Ahh that's gonna hurt like a bitch for weeks"

"You okay?" Dean asked as he looked at her through the rear view mirror. Buffy gave him a small smile to signal that she could tell the difference between Dean and Non-Dean.

Buffy sighed as she placed her hands on her hips – her fingers pressed on her back – and straightened then carved her back to stretch the muscles, she felt the muscles spasm and the pain started to turn into a dull ache. She knew she would definitely be left with a bruise.

"Yeah I'm okay. Nothing I haven't had before. I just know I'm going to be paying for a few weeks." She could tell by looking at him in the mirror that he wanted to apologise but when he just coughed and looked back at the road she knew that he wouldn't because Sam was there as he was already giving Dean a funny look.

"Sorry, man."

Buffy and Sam looked at each other. Who was he talking to?

"About what?" Sam finally asked.

Dean shrugged, "I really wish things could be different, you know? I wish you could just be….Joe College."

Sam laughed to himself, "No, that's okay. You know, the truth is, even at Stanford, deep down, I never really fit in."

Dean smiled, "Well, that's 'cause you're a freak."

Sam laughed, "Yeah, thanks."

Buffy patted him on the shoulder, "Don't worry Sam. You're not the only freak." She smiled.

"Yeah, I'm a freak, too. I'm right there with ya, all the way." Dean said and gave him a small smile.

Sam laughed, "Yeah, I know you are."

After a minute of Buffy and Sam looking out of their windows and Dean concentrating on the road he said, "You know, I gotta say—I'm sorry I'm gonna miss it."

"Miss what?" Buffy asked.

Dean smiled at Buffy then looked at Sam, "How many chances am I gonna have to see my own funeral?" He asked rhetorically and he and Sam shared a smile. Dean then decided to stop talking to anyone and put on his ACDC cassette and fill everyone's ears with it. Buffy had gotten so used to that cassette that she knew all the words to each song as Dean played the same tape every time they finished a hunt and went searching for the next. Who knows what or where they will end up hunting next.

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There we go. That was my version of "Skin" i hope you liked it.. and I hope you guessed which clip i stole from Season 6 :P Reviews are always appreciated ^_^


	6. Home

Okay so I've skipped a couple of episodes now. I'm only going to do the episodes I like and the ones that are most important to the story.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Eric Kripke owns Supernatural and it's scripts and Joss Wheedon owns Buffy. This was made for fun.

I used the TwizTv script for Supernatural Season 1, Episode 9 "Home"

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Buffy sat bolt upright, her body covered with sweat and her pyjamas clung to her body, her breathing was heavy and her heart was racing. It had been a long time since she had one of her Slayer dreams. Sure she's had bad dreams before but she always knew the difference between a bad dream and one of her 'prophesies' and the one she just had was definitely a prophesy dream. Usually she could remember them but this one she had was all a blur; all she could remember was a woman screaming – though Buffy couldnt hear her – and she was banging on her bedroom window repeatedly then she felt the white hot flames of the fiery figure behind her as it jumped out at Buffy which was what woke her up. Buffy stretched and groaned at the dull pain in her back. It had been a couple of weeks since her back injury but it was still hurting, though it was healing faster than it would on a normal person. Buffy hadn't been sleeping properly since that day when the shape shifter looking like Dean tried to rape her, and it probably could have if the real Dean and Sam came back when they did. Every time she slept she would dream of the shifter's hands all over her, pushing her over the tub, kissing her and groping her and her shooting it – the sound of the gunshot in her dreams was usually when she woke up. After every dream she would check out too see if Sam and Dean were still there, her gaze resting a little longer on Dean. Things between her and Dean have been a bit strange between them, for the first week it was Buffy that would jump whenever he touched her or came up behind her as the first thing she saw when she looked at him was the shifter's silver eyes. But the past week it was Dean that was being weird, deliberately keeping a distance from her and he only really spoke to her when Sam was around. Tonight was the first night in two weeks that she hadn't dreamed of that night so she was relieved that she was now getting over it and hopefully mend her friendship with Dean but also the new dream she had unsettled her slightly about why she would dream about some random woman in a place she'd never been. She hadn't had a 'prophecy' dream since she left Sunnydale and all her dreams were based in Sunnydale so she didn't know what to make of it. Maybe it wasn't a prophesy; maybe it was just a really realistic bad dream. Buffy sighed as she got out of bed, got herself a glass of water then went back to sleep and this time she didn't dream of anything.

That same morning when Buffy finally woke at a reasonable hour she was surprised that she wasn't ordered to get dressed straight away like usual; instead she actually had time to enjoy her shower and pick out her clothes properly. By the time she had finished in the bathroom, almost an hour, Sam and Dean were still sitting in the places she left them in: Dean at the table on the laptop and Sam laying on his bed doodling in a notepad. Buffy flopped onto her stomach onto her bed and flicked through the magazine she had on her bedside table and they all sat in a slightly awkward silence for a while. None of them had mentioned the shifter since they left St. Louis and neither wanted to be the first to talk about it so for now they left it alone.

Dean finally broke the silence, "All right. I've been cruisin' some websites. I think I found a few candidates for our next gig. A fishing trawler found off the coast of Cali –- its crew vanished. And, uh, we got some cattle mutilations in West Texas. Hey." Buffy looked up to see him looking at Sam who was still doodling in the pad. "Am I boring you with this hunting evil stuff?" he asked seriously.

"Yes." Buffy said as she flicked through pages in her magazine then looked up at Dean and gave him a cheeky grin which he smiled back too.

"No. I'm listening. Keep going." Sam said half heartedly as he never took his eyes off the pad.

Dean looked back at the laptop and cleared his throat, "And, here, a Sacramento man shot himself in the head... Three times. Any of these things blowin' up your skirt, pal?"

Buffy looked back up at Dean, "That one sounds weird enough."

Sam stopped doodling at sat upright, "Wait. I've seen this."

"Seen what?" Buffy asked.

"What are you doing?" Dean asked as he watched Sam riffle through a duffel bag and pull out the thick leather journal. He picked out a photo from inside the journal and he placed it side by side with the picture he drew. "Dean, I know where we have to go next." Sam said as he stared at the drawing and the photo.

"Where?"

Sam looked at his brother, "Back home –- back to Kansas."

Buffy dropped the page in her hand and wide eyed she looked from brother to brother. Dean sort of shook his head and pulled a face, "Okay, random. Where'd that come from?"

Sam held up the photo from the journal, Buffy couldnt see the photo properly from her angle but she could tell it was a picture of a couple standing outside a house. "All right, um, this photo was taken in front of our old house, right? The house where Mom died?"

Dean hesitated, not liking where this was heading, "Yeah."

"And it didn't burn down, right? I mean, not completely, they rebuilt it, right?" Sam asked.

Dean shrugged, "I guess so, yeah. What the hell are you talkin' about?"

Sam put the photo and drawing down on the bed and walked over to Dean, "Okay, look, this is gonna sound crazy but….the people who live in our old house –- I think they might be in danger." He said as Dean got out the chair he was in.

"Why would you think that?"

Sam started to speak but then he hesitated. "Uh…it's just, um….look, just trust me on this, okay?" he said hastily and turned back around and moved over to his bed.

Dean took his arm before he could move, "Wait, whoa, whoa, trust you?"

"Yeah." Sam answered as he removed his arm from Dean's grip and continued to his bed.

Buffy sat up in the middle of the bed and crossed her legs, "Dean?"

He just ignored her. "Come on, man, that's weak. You gotta give me a little bit more than that."

"Dean?" Buffy said again a little louder.

Sam shrugged, "I can't really explain it is all." He replied.

Dean started to open his mouth when Buffy knelt on the bed, "Dean! He's your brother; can't you just trust what he says?"

Dean gave Buffy a sidelong glance then shook his head, "No. I need an explanation. I'm not goin' anywhere until you do." Dean said all this looking at Sam, waiting for an explanation.

Sam sighed and scrunched a fist nervously, "I have these nightmares."

"I've noticed." Dean nodded.

Sam hesitated again, "And sometimes….they come true."

Buffy's ears pricked up and she almost fell off the bed in shock.

"What?" Buffy asked stunned.

"Come again?" Dean asked just as stunned at the same time as Buffy.

Sam looked from Buffy to Dean with wide eyes, though Buffy's wide eyes beat him, "Look, Dean….I dreamt about Jessica's death –- for days before it happened."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Sam, people have weird dreams, man. I'm sure it's just a coincidence." He stated a little too calmly as he sat down on the bed opposite Buffy's.

"No, I dreamt about the blood dripping, her on the ceiling, the fire, everything, and I didn't do anything about it 'cause I didn't believe it. And now I'm dreaming about that tree, about our house, and about some woman inside screaming for help. I mean, that's where it all started, man, this has to mean something, right?"

Buffy crawled off the bed, "Oh this means something alright" she stated with a nervous laugh.

Dean looked up at Buffy with only half concern and Sam looked down at her with big eyes.

She stopped when she reached Sam's side. "You had a dream about a blonde woman? Was she banging on this huge window with fire behind her?"

Sam nodded. "How did you-?"

"I had the same dream." Buffy explained.

Dean stood back up, "What?"

Buffy looked at Dean for a second before looking back at Sam and nodded in confirmation that she did just say that. "I had the same dream. Last night. I just put it down to your everyday bad dream... I had a feeling it was a prophesy but-"

Dean waved his hand in front of Buffy's face, "Whoa, whoa there! A prophesy? You telling me you've had these before?"

Buffy nodded. "When I became the slayer and moved to Sunnydale I was having nightmares and then they started coming true. Then I was told by my Watcher that Slayer's have prophetic dreams and..." she looked up at Sam apologetically, "a Slayer always has them when something bad is coming."

Sam sucked in a breath and blinked a few times, "Right so it definitely means something's going to happen there. We've got to go. Now."

Dean sank back down on the bed "I don't know." He sighed and put his head in his hands.

Sam sat on Buffy's bed so he was facing opposite his brother, "What do you mean you don't know, Dean? This woman might be in danger. I mean, this might even be the thing that killed Mom and Jessica!"

Dean took his head out of his hands and got up and started pacing around the bedroom. Buffy sat down beside Sam. "All right, just slow down, would ya?" Dean said then he went quiet and continued pacing for a few seconds. "I mean, first I'm told that you've both got the Shining? And then you tell me that I've gotta go back home? Especially when…." Dean trailed off and looked at the floor.

"When what?" Sam asked.

Dean looked back at Sam and Buffy knew that if she wasn't here he'd probably cry, "When I swore to myself that I would never go back there?"

Sam's look softened when he saw how affected his brother was and as he spoke it was almost a whisper, "Look, Dean, we have to check this out. Just to make sure."

Dean nodded and drew in a long breath, "I know we do."

Sam put a reassuring hand on his brother's shoulder before getting up and beginning stuffing all his belongings inside his duffel. Buffy and Dean got up at the same time, Buffy hesitated putting a hand on his arm then thought better of it and let it drop to her side. "You okay?" she asked softly.

Dean gave her a quick glance, "I'm fine." He said too calmly and walked out the motel room.

Buffy sighed and folded her arms.

"It's not you."

Buffy turned to face Sam. "What's not me?"

Sam folded a blue striped shirt, "It's not you he's got the problem with." He stated as he placed the shirt inside the duffel.

Buffy groaned as she walked over to her bed and pulled out her own duffel bag and started taking her clothes out the wardrobe. "Really? Sam, he can't even look at me. I get the feeling he doesn't want me around anymore." She said as she threw clothes into the bag, not caring about creases for once.

Sam chuckled lightly, "Like I said, it's not you he's got the problem with. It's himself. And the shifter." He stopped what he was doing and turned his body to face her, "He feel's responsible for what happened to you and I think that he thinks you can't be around him because it reminds you of what happened. Don't take it personal Buffy, believe it or not but he's actually thinking of what he thinks is best for you."

Buffy sighed louder, "But I know the difference between him and that... _thing_. I think he forgets that I'm not a normal girl, I've been doing this job a long time now – obviously not as long as you two but believe me I've been in worse situations." She stated as she threw all her belongings into the duffel, taking a longer time putting in the photo of her friends inside – Sam and Dean had seen the photo standing on the bedside table but they'd never asked her questions.

Sam didn't say anything else as he finished packing his stuff. When they were all packed – and Sam packed all of Dean's stuff too – they headed to the car where Dean was already waiting. Sam threw him the room key and Dean went into the reception. Sam took Buffy's duffel and threw it in the trunk.

"He'll get over it. Give him time. He always does." Sam said quietly and Buffy only had time to nod as Dean came back.

They all got inside the car and Dean sped off to Kansas.

----

Dean pulled up across the street from the house Buffy remembered from her dream. A large white house with huge windows and a tall tree sat outside the front.

"You gonna be all right, man?" Sam asked.

Dean thought about it for a moment then looked at his brother, "Let me get back to you on that."

They all got out the car and slowly walked across the street and up the front porch. Sam knocked on the door and they shuffled nervously as they waited, when a woman answered the door Buffy and Sam both looked shocked when they saw it was the same woman from their dream.

"Yes?" The woman asked a little confused at the faces infront of her.

Dean didn't even have to think of a lie, "Sorry to bother you, ma'am, but we're with the Federal—"

Sam cut him off and smiled at the woman, "I'm Sam Winchester, and this is my brother, Dean. We used to live here. You know, we were just drivin' by, and we were wondering if we could come see the old place."

Buffy and Dean both looked at him like he was crazy then they looked back at the woman and smiled politely. The woman held a strange smile on her face like she was putting together a puzzle in her mind.

"Winchester. Yeah, that's so funny. You know, I think I found some of your photos the other night." She explained.

"You did?" Dean asked wide eyed.

The blonde woman nodded and stepped aside to let them in, "Come on in."

Buffy followed the boys inside and she stopped beside the woman and smiled, "I'm Buffy. I'm travelling with them." She laughed and held out her hand.

The woman laughed also and took Buffy's hand to shake, "I'm Jenny."

Jenny headed into the kitchen and Buffy followed her with Sam and Dean following slowly. In the large kitchen there was a girl about ten sat at table doing homework and a toddler in a playpen at the other side of the room.

"Juice! Juice! Juice! Juice!" The little boy called as soon as he saw his mother.

Jenny opened the refrigerator and Buffy Sam and Dean stood around the table.

"That's Ritchie. He's kind of a juice junkie." She took a Sippy cup out of the fridge and headed to her son, "But, hey, at least he won't get scurvy." She cooed as Ritchie took the cup and she stroked his hair. She walked back over to the girl sat at the table and put a hand on her shoulder, "Sari, this is Buffy, Sam and Dean." Jenny pointed at each person when she called their name, "Sam and Dean used to live here."

Dean waved, "Hi"

Sam smiled. "Hey, Sari."

Buffy just waved and gave Sari a smile.

After a moment Dean spoke into the silence, "So, you just moved in?"

Jenny picked up some stray newspaper from the table, "Yeah, from Wichita."

Dean put his hands into his jacket pocket, "You got family here, or….?"

Jenny's face fell as she quickly shook her head and fiddled with the papers, "No. I just, uh….needed a fresh start, that's all. So, new town, new job –- I mean, as soon as I find one. New house."

"So, how you likin' it so far?" Sam asked as he looked around at the room.

Jenny threw the papers into the trash, "Well, uh, all due respect to your childhood home –- I mean, I'm sure you had lots of happy memories here. But this place has its issues."

Neither Sam nor Dean look fazed, "What do you mean?" Sam asked.

Jenny sighed as she thought," Well, it's just getting old. Like the wiring, you know? We've got flickering lights almost hourly."

Buffy knew that as a sign for spirit activity, or so Dean and Sam informed her, though she just thought that it was just a bad electrical job. "Oh, that's too bad. What else?" Dean asked, his voice sounded interested but his face was set to 'all business', Buffy didn't know how he could look so calm hearing that there could be a spirit in his old family home.

Jenny thought for anymore signs that the house was past its sell by date. "Um…sink's backed up; there are rats in the basement." She paused when she remembered they lived here before, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to complain."

Dean shook his head and held up a hand to signal he wasn't offended, "No. Have you seen the rats or have you just heard scratching?" Dean was straight into investigative mode.

Jenny shook her head again, "It's just the scratching, actually."

"Mom?"

Buffy and the boys turned their attention to Sari at the table and Jenny knelt down beside her, "Ask them if it was here when they lived here." Sari said to her mother quietly, though loud enough for them to hear.

"What, Sari?"

Sari looked up at Sam, "The thing in my closet."

Jenny shook her head and smiled, "Oh, no, baby, there was nothing in their closets." She looked up at the others for encouragement, "Right?"

Sam smiled, "Right. No, no, of course not."

Buffy nodded, "Your mom's right but, Sari, why do you think there was something in your closet?"

"She had a nightmare the other night." Jenny explained.

"I wasn't dreaming." Sari spoke up and looked at Buffy, "It came into my bedroom –- and it was on fire." Buffy, Sam and Dean looked at each other in shock. Buffy knew it was the thing in her dream that Sari saw.

"You know what," Buffy looked at her watch, "we really have to go. It was really nice to meet you Jenny. Sari." Buffy said as she looked at the boys and they nodded.

"Yeah we should go." Dean said and followed Buffy out the house.

Sam walked backwards, "Thanks for showing us the place, we'll let ourselves out" Sam waved then spun around and practically ran out the house.

Sam caught up to Buffy and Dean, "You hear that? A figure on fire." He said to both of them.

Buffy nodded and she was still in shock.

"And that woman, Jenny, that was the woman in your dreams?" Dean asked as he pulled out the car keys.

Sam nodded. Dean looked to Buffy, "Yeah. That was her." She confirmed.

"And you hear what she was talking about? Scratching, flickering lights, both signs of a malevolent spirit." Sam added.

Dean sighed, "Yeah, well, I'm just freaked out that your weirdo visions are comin' true." He said as he got to the car.

Sam was panicking so much he was barely breathing as he spoke, "Well, forget about that for a minute. The thing in the house, do you think it's the thing that killed Mom and Jessica?"

Dean was playing with his keys as Sam was speaking but when he finished Dean snapped his head up and had a confused frown on his face, "I don't know!"

"Well, I mean, has it come back or has it been here the whole time?" Sam asked as Dean was about to put the keys in the car door but stopped him.

Dean looked up, Buffy could feel how pissed off he was getting with his brother, "Or maybe it's something else entirely, Sam, we don't know yet." Dean tried to explain that it may not be the thing that killed their mother. He hoped.

Sam shook his head, "Well, those people are in danger, Dean. We have to get 'em out of that house."

Dean nodded and put the key in the car door, "And we will." He said as he opened the door.

"No, I mean now."

Dean had opened the door but shut it again and looked at Sam, "And how you gonna do that, huh? You got a story that she's gonna believe?" his voice was getting higher and higher.

Sam just shared the same look as Dean, "Then what are we supposed to do?"

Dean was about to speak again when Buffy waved her hands around, "Alright, alright. That's enough testosterone poisoning for today. Look we just need to calm ourselves. Let's get to a motel, book ourselves in and just chill then we can think of what we're going to do." Buffy was surprised with how teacher she sounded and she was even more surprised when she saw Dean nod.

"That's exactly what I was trying to say." He pointed to Buffy and grinned then looked at Sam and they shared a look that Buffy couldn't decipher then Dean got inside the car and Buffy followed. Sam stood outside for a few seconds before finally getting inside also.

----

They never got to the motel. They got as far as the next gas station when Buffy declared she had to pee, she was also quite hungry too, so when they stopped at the gas station Buffy ran to the toilet in record time while Dean filled up the car and Sam sat on the trunk of the Impala with a moody face on.

"We just gotta chill out, that's all. You know if this was any other kind of job, what would we do?" Dean was asking himself more than to Sam.

Sam sighed, "We'd try to figure out what we were dealin' with. We'd dig into the history of the house." Sam explained.

"Exactly, except this time, we already know what happened." Dean stated.

Sam nodded once, "Yeah, but how much do we know? I mean, how much do you actually remember?"

Dean looked at Sam with a raised eyebrow, "About that night, you mean?"

"Yeah."

Dean pursed his lips as he thought and kicked the toe of his boot on the gravel as he spoke, "Not much. I remember the fire…the heat." He paused for a second and took a long breath, "And then I carried you out the front door."

Sam looked at Dean perplexed, "You did?"

Dean shrugged, "Yeah, what, you never knew that?"

"No." Sam said shaking his head.

Dean looked at the gas monitor and decided to leave the gas pump in a little longer, "And, well, you know Dad's story as well as I do. Mom was….was on the ceiling. And whatever put her there was long gone by the time Dad found her." He didn't look at his brother as he stumbled over some of the words.

"And he never had a theory about what did it?"

Dean took the gas pump out of the car, "If he did, he kept it to himself. God knows we asked him enough times." He said as he put the pump back and closed the gas valve on the car.

"Okay. So, if we're gonna figure out what's goin' on now…we have to figure out what happened back then. And see if it's the same thing."

"Yeah. We'll talk to Dad's friends, neighbours, people who were there at the time."

Sam looked at his brother, "Does this feel like just another job to you?"

Dean seemed to hesitate for a moment. "I'll be right back. I gotta go to the bathroom. Go pay for the gas." He said as he headed to the side of the gas station where the toilets were situated.

Buffy almost bumped into Sam as she came out the store, "Sam watch where you're going!" she laughed as Sam picked up some sweets she dropped.

"Hungry?" he joked as he put it back on the pile that was almost too big for her to see over.

Buffy gave him a fake smile, "har har! I know how long these car rides can be and I may get peckish." She explained.

"You do know Dean would have eaten half that pile before we've gotten anywhere?" Sam laughed.

Buffy nodded in agreement. She had noticed Dean was a sweetie monster. "Speaking of," she looked outside to see the Impala without its driver, "where is he?"

"In the bathroom. And I get lumbered with the gas bill... again." Sam stated as he pulled out his money clip with a lot of green notes.

"Awwwww" Buffy cooed, "poor Sammy" she laughed as she continued out the store and putting and headed for the car.

As she walked she saw a figure standing outside the toilets, he looked a lot like Dean from the back Buffy noticed, and the curious side of Buffy got to her and she threw the sweets into the back of the car and silently made her way over to the toilets. She kept to the walls and she stopped when she reached the corner. When she looked around she noticed now that it was definitely Dean, he leant on the wall with his back to her with one of his many cell phones as his ear.

When he spoke Buffy was surprised as it wasn't something she was used to hearing.

"Dad?" Dean's voice quivered, £I know I've left you messages before. I don't even know if you'll get 'em." He cleared his throat before he continued, "But I'm with Sam. And we're in Lawrence. And there's somethin' in our old house. I don't know if it's the thing that killed Mom or not, but…." His voice broke at the end and he paused. Buffy heard him breathe back sobs and she fought to keep her own tears at bay. "…I don't know what to do." Dean whispered and he began to cry, "So, whatever you're doin', if you could get here. Please. I need your help, Dad." He cried and hung up and Buffy's heart broke and she felt her own tears fall.

Dean put the cell back into his pocket and he wiped away the tears that fell on his face and he took a deep breath to calm himself before returning to his brother and Buffy. But when he turned around he saw a shocked, tear streaked, Buffy stood behind him.

"W-what are you doing here?" He asked, his voice was still shaking with emotion but he tried his hardest to pull it off.

Buffy just looked at him for a few seconds, "Are you okay?" she asked, her own voice a little shaky.

Dean shrugged, "why wouldn't I be." He tried his hardest to sound normal but a hint of embarrassment was in his voice, "How long have you been standing there? Where you spying on me?" his voice was stronger now but he still sounded more embarrassed than anything.

Buffy walked a little closer to him, "I wasn't spying, I was... I heard... Are you okay?" Buffy stumbled over the right words to say to him and she reached her hand out to stroke his face but Dean caught it and squeezed it hard. Even Buffy was surprised at the strength behind it.

"Just because I let you come along with us doesn't give you the right to snoop on me and my private life!" he yelled in her face.

Buffy's mouth opened and closed a few times. "I-I wasn't snooping I was just-"

Dean threw her hand away from him, "Well just don't... leave me alone" he said quietly and walked past her, bumping her shoulder as he passed.

She knew that he was more embarrassed than anything that she saw him cry, which was why he shouted at her to save face but she wouldn't deny that it didn't hurt. She just wanted to comfort him and he threw it back in her face. Buffy composed herself for a second then headed back to the car. Sam and Dean were already sat inside and when she got in she avoided his gaze at her in the review mirror and Sam turned around to face her. "Where did you go?"

Buffy glanced at Dean for a moment before looking back at Sam and smiled, "I uh just needed to stretch my legs before I got in the car. My legs get so stiff sitting in here for so long."

Sam laughed and nodded, "Yeah, I know the feeling" he turned back to Dean, "So where we going?"

Dean decided that they would check in then ask around about their dad.

They found a motel that wasn't far from the centre of town and Dean checked them in while Buffy and Sam got the stuff out the car. When Dean returned all their belongings were out the car and Dean threw Buffy a key. "Here, I was able to score you your own room"

Buffy caught the key but she wasn't sure why he was acting so cool, like nothing had happened, like he hadn't shouted at her. Did he get her a room because he wanted to apologise or was it because he didn't want to see her? Dean was acting so cool Buffy couldnt decipher it. "Thanks" Buffy said quietly and picked up her bags.

Dean and Sam picked up their own, Sam also picked up the remaining bags that belonged to Buffy that held her lighter stuff in. "So where are we going next?" Sam asked as they headed to their rooms. Dean and Sam were in room 12 and Buffy had room 11. They all stood outside their rooms.

"I thought we could talk to the guy dad used to own the auto shop with, if he's still here." Dean said as he put the key in the door and let it swing open. Sam nodded with him.

"You know what," Buffy said as she unlocked her room door, "I'm pretty beat so do you guys mind if I stay and you two go?" She really couldnt handle another minute with Dean until she cleared her head.

Dean shrugged "Whatever" he grumbled and went inside his room.

Buffy looked at the space where Dean was no longer stood before shuffling the bags on her shoulders and kicking the door lightly so it swung open.

"Hey," Sam had dropped his bags and he lent on her door frame. Buffy dropped her bags on the floor when she entered then turned around to see Sam with concern on his face. "You okay?"

Buffy nodded, "I'm fine." She made her lips into a smile and took the doorknob, "I'll catch up with you guys later."

Sam nodded slightly and pushed himself off the doorframe, "Okay, I'll see you soon."

When Sam had moved into his own room Buffy shut the door and slid down and fell to the floor. She wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her head on her knees. Buffy didn't know if she and Dean could recover from what happened those two weeks ago. Whenever she tried to show him that she knew it wasn't really him that did those things to her, he kept pushing her away and she had to admit that when he grabbed her wrist earlier she felt the same fear as she did when the shifter had her. It was like every time she took one step forward, Dean would take two steps back.

She was sat on the floor for a few minutes when she heard the rumbling of the Impala's engine and it growling off. Buffy groaned and got off the floor and unpacked all her things, when she took out the last item in her bag, the photo of her and her friends, she stroked their face and put it on the bedside table. She really did miss all her friends in Sunnydale, especially her sister. She knew that she was crazy for just leaving them, but her friends left her to crawl out her own grave – Buffy figured out that Willow and Tara must have found a spell to bring her back but thought it didn't work and left her there. For all Buffy knew they could still think that she's dead. A couple of times Buffy's thought about calling them and letting them know she's safe but she knew they would make her go back... and she wasn't ready for that yet. Even if it pained her to see Dean pulling away from her it didn't mount to the heartbreak she'd received when she lived in Sunnydale.

When all her clothes had been unpacked Buffy started putting up her punch bag and changed into sweats, at least there was one way she could take her frustration, pain, annoyance, everything that she was feeling and not be worried about the circumstances. She punched and kicked away at the bag for about half an hour and then showered and changed back into the clothes she was wearing before. Just as she finished drying her hair she heard the ringing off the phone sat on the bedside table.

Buffy answered it carefully, "Hello?"

"Buffy? It's Sam." Buffy let out the breath she was holding when she heard the familiar voice.

Everything okay? You find anything out about your dad?" She asked. They never usually call her.

Sam breathed down the phone, "Everything's fine. We think we may have found a lead."

Buffy crossed her legs on her bed and switched the receiver to the other ear as Sam spoke, "A psychic named Missouri Moseley. You wanna come check it out with us? I thought it might be something to interest you."

Buffy smiled at his thoughtfulness, "Sure, what's the address? I'll meet you guys there."

----

Buffy wrote down the address Sam called out and said bye and hung up and she put on her combat boots, picked up her black leather jacket and keys, then left the motel and walked to the address. It was only a few blocks away, fifteen minutes at the most but if she ran she would reach there before the boys in the Impala. Buffy took a few wrong turns as she walked but the good thing about a Slayer is that they have a good sense of direction so within twenty minutes she spotted the Impala outside a house. It didn't look like a place for a psychic to do what they do, it looked... normal. Sam and Dean got out the car and Buffy apologised for being late and they head inside. When she entered Buffy knew this woman wasn't a fake, she could feel the woman's psychic energies buzzing around the place. She wondered if the other two could feel it too but judging by their faces they didn't and Buffy copied them by sitting on the couch waiting for her to finish with whoever she was talking to in the next room.

Not two minutes later did a large African American woman walk into the hallway with a man around her age, "All right, there. Don't you worry 'bout a thing. Your wife is crazy about you." The woman said smiling. The man thanked her and left, when the woman closed the door she looked at the three sat on the couch, "Whew. Poor bastard. His woman is cold-bangin' the gardener." She dead-panned.

"Why didn't you tell him?" Dean asked.

"People don't come here for the truth. They come for good news." The woman, Missouri Buffy guessed, said. "Well? Sam and Dean, come on already, I aint got all day." She said as she left the hallway and into another room. Sam and Dean exchanged a confused a look and followed Missouri, Buffy trailed behind them. Missouri turned and smiled at the boys, "Well, lemme look at ya." She looked the boys up and down, "Oh, you boys grew up handsome." She pointed a finger at Dean and chuckled, "And you were one goofy-lookin' kid, too." Dean glared when Buffy and Sam chuckled.

It was when she chuckled that Missouri seemed to notice that Buffy was there and smiled at her, "And you're more beautiful than these two combined. How did you end up having to put up with these two?" Missouri joked and as Buffy went to speak Missouri took her hand.

Buffy was going to say "Well there was unforeseen circumstances that drew them together" but before she could say anything Missouri's face changed, "So much pain..." she sighed and looked Buffy in the eye, "You've lost so many you love. Including the only one you ever loved. So much responsibility for such a young child." Missouri didn't seem to realise that she was talking out loud. Missouri must have been looking through Buffy's memories. Buffy saw Dean was giving her a weird look when Missouri said the part about the one she ever loved and Buffy shrugged her shoulders at him and her mind trailed to the shifter, Dean being weird with her, then when Dean caught her listening to his voice message and frightening her. Missouri let her hand go and slapped Dean on the head.

"Boy that's no way to treat a lady! Can't you see this girl cares about you; you shouldn't take her for granted. You may need her more than you think" Missouri said in her best authority tone as Dean rubbed at his head and glared at Sam when he smirked.

"Sam." Missouri smiled at Sam and took his hand, "Oh, honey…I'm sorry about your girlfriend." Dean and Sam look at each other with their eyes practically out their sockets.

"And your father –- he's missin'?" Missouri said and Buffy could hear her heart racing.

"How'd you know all that? About me and Buffy?" Sam asked.

"Well, you were just thinkin' it just now." Missouri replied and let his hand go.

"Well, where is he? Is he okay?" Dean asked.

Missouri shrugged, "I don't know."

Dean raised his eyebrows, "Don't know? Well, you're supposed to be a psychic, right?" Dean asked impatiently.

Missouri glared at Dean, "Boy, you see me sawin' some bony tramp in half? You think I'm a magician? I may be able to read thoughts and sense energies in a room, but I can't just pull facts out of thin air. Sit, please." She gestured to the couch behind her.

Buffy and Sam smirked as they sat down, Sam on the far end and Buffy in the middle, Dean on the other side. Dean was about to lift his foot when Missouri pointed at him, "Boy, you put your foot on my coffee table, I'm 'a whack you with a spoon!"

"I didn't do anything." Dean said innocently.

"But you were thinkin' about it." Missouri told him to which Dean raised his brows and Sam barely contained a laugh.

Sam shuffled in his seat for a second before speaking up, "Okay. So, our dad –- when did you first meet him?"

"He came for a reading. A few days after the fire. I just told him what was really out there in the dark. I guess you could say…I drew back the curtains for him."

"What about the fire? Do you know about what killed our mom?" Dean asked.

Missouri nodded, "A little. Your daddy took me to your house. He was hopin' I could sense the echoes, the fingerprints of this thing." She explained.

"And could you?" Sam asked.

"I…." Missouri trailed off and shook her head.

"What was it?" Sam's voice was etched in concern.

"I don't know. Oh, but it was evil." Missouri said so softly Buffy almost couldnt hear her.

"So…you think somethin' is back in that house?" Missouri asked a second later.

"Definitely." Sam said.

Missouri shook her head again, "I don't understand."

Sam furrowed his brows confused, "What?"

Missouri looked up at Sam, "I haven't been back inside, but I've been keepin' an eye on the place, and it's been quiet. No sudden deaths, no freak accidents. Why is it actin' up now?"

Sam shrugged and shook his head, "I don't know. But Dad going missing and Jessica dying and now this house all happening at once –- it just feels like something's starting."

Dean rolled his eyes, "That's a comforting thought."

"Do you think...." Buffy spoke up and everyone looked at her, "Do you think we should go to the house? I mean like Missouri could see if it's the same thing that you know... killed your mom."

Dean looked at her for a second, "You know that's not a bad idea," he smiled then looked up at Missouri, "You up for it?"

Missouri was a little hesitant at first then seeing the two boys she hadn't seen since they were babies she nodded.

----

Arriving half hour later back at their old family home Buffy and Missouri followed Sam and Dean up the steps to the front door and stopped when Sam rang the doorbell. Jenny answered with Ritchie in her arms and she was wide eyed and breathless, "Sam, Dean, Buffy. What are you doing here?" she asked defensively.

Sam smiled. "Hey, Jenny. This is our friend, Missouri." Sam pointed to Missouri beside him.

"If it's not too much trouble, we were hoping to show her the old house. You know, for old time's sake." Dean suggested.

Jenny calmed her breathing and adjusted Ritchie on her hip, "You know... this isn't a good time. I'm kind of busy."

"Listen, Jenny, its important-" Missouri cut Dean off by smacking him on the back of his head, "Ow!"

"Give the poor girl a break; can't you see she's upset?" Missouri yelled at Dean and moved in front of him and smiled at Jenny, "Forgive this boy, he means well, he's just not the sharpest tool in the shed, but hear me out."

Dean looked on stunned and Buffy and Sam couldnt help but smile at him.

"About what?" Jenny asked nervously.

"About this house." Missouri stated.

Jenny laughed, "What are you talking about?"

Missouri looked her straight in the eyes, "I think you know what I'm talking about. You think there's something in this house, something that wants to hurt your family. Am I mistaken?"

"Who are you?"

"We're people who can help, who can stop this thing. But you're gonna have to trust us, just a little." Missouri said softly.

Jenny looked at all four of them on her doorway for a second then moved herself aside and ushered them in.

Missouri headed straight up the stairs, the rest following behind, and she moved into a fairly big room decorated in pink.

"If there's a dark energy around here, this room should be the centre of it." Missouri said as she stopped in the centre of the bedroom.

Buffy, Dean and Sam entered the room inside, Jenny waited downstairs.

"Why?" Sam asked.

Missouri turned to look at him, "This used to be your nursery, Sam. This is where it all happened." Everyone except Buffy looked at the ceiling. Buffy looked at the ceiling but found nothing out of the ordinary. She didn't understand what a spirit had to do with Sam's nursery. Missouri continued looking around the room and she turned back around when she saw Dean pull out a small black box. "That an EMF?"

Buffy found out that EMF was short for Electromagnetic Frequency; she'd been around the boys long enough to find out they use this EMF to find spirits.

Dean turned on the EMF, "Yeah."

Missouri turned back around to continue looking around, "Amateur."

Dean glared at Missouri and nudged Sam, they both looked at the EMF beeping frantically and all the lights were flickering. Buffy guessed that it was bad.

"I don't know if you boys should be disappointed or relieved, but this aint the thing that took your mom." She said as she looked around the bedroom and hovered her hand over objects.

Buffy looked at the girly makeup stand at the other side of the room and sighed. Sari was just a child; she had a little brother and a very sad mother. They didn't deserve any of this.

"Wait, are you sure?" Sam asked.

Missouri nodded.

"How do you know?" Buffy asked finally entering the room fully and stopping beside Sari's white and pink bed.

Missouri sighed, "It isn't the same energy I felt the last time I was here. It's somethin' different."

"What is it?" Dean asked, turning off the EMF.

"Not _it_." She replied and opened the closet and stepped inside, "_Them_. There's more than one spirit in this place." She explained as she looked around inside the closet.

"What are they doing here?" Dean asked.

"They're here because of what happened to your family." Missouri came back out of the closet, "You see, all those years ago, real evil came to you. It walked this house. That kind of evil leaves wounds. And sometimes, wounds get infected." She explained as best as she could.

Buffy had no idea what she was talking about, she thought their mother died of a house fire – that's what Dean told her. She suddenly realised from the shifty, uncomfortable looks that Dean was giving her that she didn't know everything. He told her their mother died in a fire and he never explained how they came bout in this field of expertise. Buffy figured the two were connected and she was definitely going to get some answers.

"I don't understand." Sam broke through Buffy's thoughts.

Missouri shut the closet and moved over to Sam, "This place is a magnet for paranormal energy. It's attracted a poltergeist; A nasty one. And it won't rest until Jenny and her babies are dead."

"You said there was more than one spirit." Buffy said. The looks she was getting from Dean confirmed that he still didn't trust her enough for her to know what happened to his family.

"There is." Missouri confirmed, "I just can't quite make out the second one."

"Well, one thing's for damn sure -" Dean spoke up, "- nobody's dyin' in this house ever again. So whatever is here, how do we stop it?"

Missouri thought for a second, "I have an idea." She said and left the room.

"Are we supposed to follow?" Sam started to say when Missouri's voice yelled from downstairs.

"Come on! We haven't got all day!"

Dean smiled, "I take that as a yes." He laughed and headed back downstairs.

Sam was leaving the room when Buffy took his arm. "Sam. Your mom's death. It wasn't... It wasn't a normal house fire was it?" She already knew the answer but she wanted the truth.

Sam's lip twitched, "Dean never told you." It was more a statement to himself than a question to her. He looked at Buffy, "No. It wasn't a house fire. It was... something. We dont know what."

"And that's why you guys do this job?"

Sam sighed and placed a hand on Buffy's back, "It's kind of hard to explain and no offence but we're not big on talking about it and we're not ready yet but I promise we will explain everything when we know everything." He said as he moved her out the room and led her down the stairs.

----

They all said goodbye to Jenny and left the house, Dean, Missouri and Sam were talking on their way to the car and Buffy – who was trailing behind them – could feel the back of her neck tingling; like she was being watched. She looked around Jenny's house but found nothing; when she carried on walking she noticed a man moving out from a corner around Jenny's house, like he was just hiding around the corner. She never got a good enough look at his face, all she could tell was that he was quite old and he didn't want her to see his face by the way he was covering his face with his coat as he got into his own car, which was parked a few houses away from Jenny.

Buffy heard Dean shout her to hurry so as she watched the guy she thought was following them drive away she continued to the Impala.

"You okay?" Sam asked when she got inside.

Buffy nodded, "Yeah. I just... thought I saw something." She looked back out the window but the car was no longer in sight.

They ended up back at Missouri's house, Missouri told them to gather in the dining room while she pottered around. When she came back after a few minutes with her arms full of bags full of different herbs, various sticks, and heaps of cloth, and she spread them out on the table.

"Okay," All four sat at the table, "so what we're going to do is take a handful of everything and put them on one of these," Missouri started opening all the bags and putting handfuls of everything onto one of the square bits of cloth and wrapping them up "and tie it up."

Buffy was a little hesitant sticking her hands in dirt but she did it anyway and she tied up her bag when Dean spoke up. He picked up something dirt like from one of the bags and sniffed it, "So, what is all this stuff, anyway?"

"Angelica Root, Van Van oil, crossroad dirt, a few other odds and ends." Missouri explained as she pulled all the corners of the cloth together and tied it up.

Dean licked a bit of dirt from between his fingers then instantly spat it out. Buffy and Sam shared a look and shook their heads at each other, "Yeah? What are we supposed to do with it?" Dean asked.

"We're gonna put them inside the walls in the north, south, east, west corners on each floor of the house." She explained as she started on another bag.

"We'll be punchin' holes in the dry wall. Jenny's gonna love that."

Missouri looked up at Dean and gave a small sly smile, "She'll live."

Sam picked up one of the readymade bags, "And this'll destroy the spirits?"

Missouri nodded, "It should. It should purify the house completely. We'll each take a floor. But we work fast. Once the spirits realize what we're up to, things are gonna get bad."

"How bad?" Buffy asked.

Missouri didn't answer, she picked up all the cloth bags and left the room and once again the three of them were left wondering if they should follow, that was until Missouri popped her head back around the room and ordered them to follow. Once again Buffy and the boys followed her with childish grins on their faces.

----

When they got back to Jenny's house it took them a while to persuade her to take the kids to a movie while they sorted out the poltergeist. When Jenny finally agreed Missouri ushered her and the kids outside and told her not to come back until the movie had finished. When Jenny and the kids were gone they each took one of the bags and split up: Sam went upstairs, Missouri went to the basement, Dean to the kitchen, and Buffy in the living room.

Buffy searched around the living room for a place to put the bag and the best place she could find was inside the fireplace. Buffy ducked and crawled inside the fireplace and realised it was smaller than it looked and she only had enough room for one hand and with a lot of stretching and scratches she managed to wedge the bag between two loose bricks. When it was firmly in place Buffy stopped stretching and congratulated herself then the next thing she knew something wrapped itself around her ankle and pulled her out the fireplace. The skin on her upper arms grazed off the walls of the fireplace and Buffy thought they were on fire they were so painful. A soon as she was out the fireplace she stopped moving but the thing wrapped around her ankle tightened, she looked at her foot quick enough to notice it was the plug wire from the tv before she was thrown into the wall. All the air escaped her lungs and her black dots filled her eyesight and the next thing she knew she was being thrown onto the floor again. Buffy was able to grab the wire attached to her ankle and tried with all her strength to rip it off her ankle but the more she tried the tighter it wrapped around her ankle. A cry escaped her lips when she was thrown down onto the glass coffee table and a few shards pierced her skin. Without thinking Buffy picked up the biggest shard of glass and as the wire lifted up to throw her again she sliced the wire, not before she was thrown again and she landed in the hallway below the stairs just as Dean ran out the kitchen.

"Holy crap you okay?" Dean asked as he helped her up.

Buffy slowly got to her feet, putting most her weight on the foot that wasn't almost crushed by a wire.

"I'll be fine," she said as she put a hand on Dean's arm and pulled herself up, "Can't say much for the TV though."

"Let's check Sam's still alive," Dean said as he wrapped a hand around Buffy's waist to help her up but he immediately let go when she cried out, that's when he noticed the small shards of glass sticking out her back and sides. He apologised but Buffy just waved him off, "I'll survive." She said and started up the stairs with Dean following behind to make sure she didn't fall back. And he couldnt help but look at her bottom while she walked.

When they got up the stairs they went to Jenny's room where Sam was placing the herbal bag and they found Sam passed out on the floor with a wire wrapped around his neck.

"Sam!" Dean yelled.

"Oh God." Buffy mumbled with a hand over her mouth.

Dean rushed over to Sam and tried to pry the cord off but it wouldn't budge, he got up and turned to Buffy, "You're stronger than me. Get that thing off him while I finish this."

Buffy knelt beside Sam and tried her hardest to pull the wire from his neck, she was able to pull hard enough to stick her hands under the wire so it came away from his neck slightly and it gave her more leverage to pry the wire away. While she did this Dean kicked a hole in the wall and threw the bag of herbs inside. When he did this a blinding white light filled the house and when the light was gone Buffy felt the cord go limp in her hand. Dean crawled over to his brother and unravelled the cord from his neck. Sam coughed repeatedly as Dean pulled him into a fierce hug and Buffy felt all her adrenaline leave her body and she fell against Dean and she pulled an arm over Sam to hug him.

After a few minutes they heard footsteps coming up the stairs and they looked up to see Missouri standing in the doorway shaking her head at them, "You'd think you three had never done this kinda thing before." She said then headed back downstairs. All three laughed and got up and headed downstairs to see the damage that was done.

----

The only damage done to the living room was the coffee table and the TV wire but in the kitchen the food from the fridge was all over the floor and all the knives were stuck in the dining table.

Missouri held her hands out at the sides and closed her eyes for a minute. "I can't feel anything. It's gone."

Buffy was sat on the kitchen counter beside the sink and Dean was picking out the bits of glass in her back and sides and was cleaning her up. "Thank god. I don't think I could go through anymore tonight." Buffy hissed when Dean pulled out a big shard of glass and he wiped the blood away with a cloth. "Sorry" he mumbled and carried on cleaning her wounds gently. Buffy turned her head to look at him and gave him a small smile, "its okay. Thanks."

Dean looked up at her and returned her smile and they looked at each other for a moment before Dean looked away and pulled out another shard of glass that made Buffy jump and look forward. She saw Missouri looking at them with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

Sam looked around the room, "You sure this is over?" he asked Missouri.

Missouri turned to Sam and nodded, "I'm sure. Why? Why do you ask?"

Sam thought he could sense that there was still something but he couldn't figure out what, he shook his head, "Never mind." He sighed. "It's nothin', I guess."

The front door opened and they heard the chatter of Jenny and the kids. "Hello? We're home." Jenny called as she shut the door, soon after she entered the kitchen with the kids and her face fell at the mess around her and Dean picking out the last of the glass from Buffy, "What happened?"

Sam smiled uncomfortably, "Hi, sorry. Um, we'll pay for all of this." He said quickly and Dean threw him a confused look.

Missouri gave Jenny a big smile, "Don't you worry. Dean's gonna clean up this mess." Missouri looked at Dean who was just stood by the sink, "Well, what are you waiting for, boy? Get the mop."

Dean shook his head as he walked away.

"And don't cuss at me!" Missouri yelled and Dean continued walking away muttering under his breath.

----

Buffy, Sam and Dean all helped clean up the house and Buffy promised she would replace the coffee table and TV before they left. The house was clean after an hour and it was getting very late so they decided to leave Jenny and the kids to sleep. Buffy wanted to sleep since it was over; she was running low on adrenaline. They all left and Dean drove Missouri back home and they said goodnight to her and Dean drove back to the motel.

"Actually, Dean," Sam started, "Could you drive back to Jenny's?"

"Why?" Dean asked then smirked at him, "You think you could tap that? I think she's outta your league" he chuckled.

Sam shook his head, "No. I want to make sure they're okay. I have a... feeling."

"Maybe you're just hungry"

Sam shook his head, "I'm not hungry Dean."

Dean frowned, "I'm hungry."

"I'm tired..." Buffy mumbled in the back, curled up on her side, her eyes fluttering open and closed.

"Dean, just trust me okay. Can we go back to Jenny's?"

Dean sighed and turned the car back around and headed back to Jenny's.

Dean parked the car opposite Jenny's and he, Sam and Buffy sat there. Sam said he was waiting but Buffy had no clue as to what they were waiting for. She didn't know how long they sat there for but every now and again Buffy dozed off but woke up when she moved a certain way and the pain woke her.

This time when she woke from the pain in her back Buffy heard the boys talking.

"All right, so, tell me again, what are we still doin' here?" Dean asked.

Sam shrugged, £I don't know. I just…I still have a bad feeling."

"Why? Missouri did her whole Zelda Rubenstein thing, the house should be clean, and it should be over." Dean explained.

"Yeah, well, probably. But I just wanna make sure, that's all." Sam muttered.

Dean sighed, "Yeah, well, problem is I could be sleeping in a bed right now." He said and slid down in his seat and closed his eyes. Sam sighed and looked back at the house and something moving in front of Jenny's window made him look up and he saw Jenny banging on the window and screaming.

"Guys! Look!"

Dean and Buffy looked up to what Sam was pointing at and for a second Buffy thought she was dreaming again but when Sam and Dean left the car Buffy knew it was real this time and she got out the car and ran for the house, because she couldnt put a lot of weight on her foot yet she was a lot slower than usual so she was still making her way when the boys were already storming through the house. Buffy got inside just as Dean and Jenny were coming out and Dean pushed her back outside. Minutes after they got out Jenny's daughter Sari ran out the front door with her little brother holding her hand beside her.

Dean knelt beside Sari as Jenny scooped up Ritchie. "Sari, where's Sam?" he asked panicked.

Sari tried to calm her crying, "He's inside. Something's got him."

Both Buffy and Dean looked at the front door and it slammed shut on its own.

"Sam!" Buffy yelled and ran for the front door.

Dean came beside her with a rifle and an axe and he moved her out the way as he started chopping chunks out the door. Buffy ran to the back of the house and with all her speed ran into the door that went into the kitchen and it came straight off its hinges and Buffy and the door felt to the floor, luckily the glass smashed as it fell to the floor and Buffy wasn't impaled with glass this time. When she looked up she saw Sam pinned to the wall close to the door leading to the hallway, about four feet away from Sam was a burning spirit, it was literally on fire – Buffy could feel the boiling heat radiating from it as she got up and walked carefully closer to Sam. Seconds after she made it Dean ran into the kitchen.

"Sam? Sam!" Dean noticed the burning spirit and held his gun up and Buffy picked up a tub of salt from the kitchen counter.

"No, don't! Don't!"

Dean quickly glanced at Sam, "What, why?!"

Sam smiled, "Because I know who it is. I can see her now."

Buffy looked at Sam, "Her?"

Suddenly the fire vanished and standing in front of them was a blonde woman in a white night dress. She was beautiful, and looked no older than thirty, with wavy blonde hair shaping a small pale face. Her eyes. Buffy knew those green eyes.

Buffy looked at Dean and saw those same green eyes falter, his face softened and he lowered his gun, "Mom?" he asked softly.

She smiled and stepped closer, "Dean." When she spoke Dean's eyes started to fill up.

The spirit of their mother moved away from him and started to Sam, Dean never took his eyes off her the entire time. "Sam." She smiled, Sam smiled weakly as he cried – looking at his mother for the first time. Her smile faded, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" he asked shakily. She looked at him sadly, but she didn't say anything. She started to turn and smiled at Buffy. Buffy stiffened.

"Buffy." The spirit of Sam and Dean's mother spoke softly and Buffy shivered that she knew her name, "take care of my boys." She said seriously and Buffy nodded.

She continued to turn around and she looked up at the ceiling, "You get out of my house. And let go of my son." She once again burst into flames and Buffy had to shut her eyes it was so hot and bright. When she opened them the fire was gone and Sam was no longer pinned to the wall. Sam and Dean walked to each other and Sam placed a hand on his brother's shoulder to hold himself up, "Now it's over." Sam mumbled.

----

The three of them stayed with Jenny till Missouri arrived after Dean called her and told her what happened. Before Missouri showed up they were visited by the police that the neighbours called when they saw Buffy and Dean breaking their way into the house. Buffy, Dean and Jenny explained vaguely that arsonists were trying to set her house on fire with her and the kids inside and Buffy and Dean broke inside and chased the kids off before any real damage was done. When the police had gone and Missouri showed up Missouri ordered them to go home and rest. The next morning none of them had any sleep, Buffy was too freaked out that their dead mother knew who she was and the boys probably because they just saw their mother after twenty years. When they arrived Missouri was still there and she cleaned up the glass from the kitchen and the wood from the front of the house. As soon as they arrived Dean stated that they were only here to make sure everything was okay and that they were leaving straight after. Jenny left them for a moment and she came back with a tin and gave it to Dean. It was full of old photo's of his parent when they were younger, of them at their wedding, of their mother pregnant, his mother holding 'baby dean', his mother pregnant with Sam and holding him at the hospital when he was born. He thanked her but he wasn't entirely sure he wanted them, it hurt too much too look at them.

Buffy and Sam sat on the steps outside the house, sitting in silence like they have done since the visit from his mother. Buffy wanted to ask what actually happened to their mother, obviously it was no ordinary house fire and Sam wanted to know how their mother knew who Buffy was. Has she been watching over them all this time?

"Well, there are no spirits in there anymore, this time for sure." Missouri said as she came out the house and sat beside Sam.

"Not even my mom?" Sam asked.

Missouri shook her head, "No."

"What happened?" Sam asked

Missouri thought of the best way to describe it, "Your mom's spirit and the poltergeist's energy, they cancelled each other out. Your mom destroyed herself goin' after the thing."

Sam shook his head, "Why would she do something like that?"

"Well, to protect her boys, of course." Missouri smiled.

Buffy gently knocked Sam and squeezed his shoulder. Sam nodded at them both with tears forming in his eyes.

"Sam, I'm sorry." Missouri said softly.

"For what?"

"You sensed it was here, didn't you? Even when I couldn't."

Buffy frowned and Sam let out a cry, "What's happening to me?"

Missouri sighed, "I know I should have all the answers, but I don't know."

Buffy ran a hand up and down Sam's back comfortingly and she tried not to show the shock on her face of what she found out. _Sam could now sense things that I couldn't even pick up? What the hell is going on?_

"Hey Girls, you ready?" he shouted with a little smile at his brother and Buffy.

Sam smiled at Dean's joke and nodded and got up, he helped Buffy up and they both said goodbye to Missouri and headed for the car. Jenny thanked all three at the car and then headed back up to the house and she stood at the steps with Missouri.

"Don't you three be strangers." Missouri called.

Dean called back, "We won't."

"See you around." Missouri called seriously like she knew that one day in the future she was going to see them again. Jenny waved as all three got into the impala and drove off to their next destination.

----

Missouri stayed with Jenny until they were gone and she double checked the house to make sure there was nothing spiritual left over. When everything was clear Missouri told Jenny that she would stop by whenever she could and for her not to be a stranger if she needed anything then started off home herself. When she got inside she set her purse on the table and let out a breath she had been holding for days. "That boy…he has such powerful abilities. But why he couldn't sense his own father, I have no idea." She said as she walked into her living room to see Sam and Dean's father, John Winchester, sat on her couch.

"Mary's spirit –- do you really think she saved the boys?" He asked gruffly.

Missouri nodded, "I do."

"That girl with them – who is she?"

Mary shrugged, "A friend."

John nodded sadly and twisted the gold wedding ring on his finger.

"John Winchester, I could just slap you. Why won't you go talk to your children?"

John choked back tears, "I want to. You have no idea how much I wanna see 'em. But I can't. Not yet. Not until I know the truth."

* * *

There, that's my version of "Home" hope you guys enjoyed it and the next episode will be episode 10 "Asylum"

As always reviews are always nice.


	7. Asylum

This chapter starts where the last one left off pretty much... Note: There's a lot of Dean/Buffy in this chapter so enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Eric Kripke owns Supernatural and it's scripts and Joss Wheedon owns Buffy. This was made for fun.

I used the TwizTv script for Supernatural Season 1, Episode 10 "Asylum"

* * *

Dean drove out of Kansas and got as far as Wichita before he got tired. They stopped off at a cheap motel on the outskirts of Wichita. All three were so tired they left almost everything in the car. Buffy only took one bag that had some clothes and weapons in, just in case. As most times they booked into a motel there was only one room available but right now Buffy didn't care, she just wanted to patch herself up properly and sleep. When they got inside Dean flopped down on one of the beds and Sam stayed long enough to explain he was hungry before leaving again.

"Ahhh I could sleep for days." Dean sighed and stretched out on the bed.

Buffy sat down on the edge of the other bed and pulled out a small first aid kit from her bag, "Me too but I just want to patch my war wounds up first." She said as she removed her torn t-shirt she had been wearing for the past few days. All three of them hadn't had time to change since they got to Kansas and, unlike Buffy, they didn't seem as bothered. Buffy turned slightly so she could see Dean, he was looking intently at the bedspread like it was going to tell him the secrets of the universe. Buffy couldnt help but smile, Dean could be a gentleman at times.

"Dean."

Buffy calling his name made him practically jump and he looked up at her with sheepish eyes, "What?"

"Could you help me?" she asked him with her politest voice, "I can't reach the wounds on my back."

Dean looked at her torn back up and down, some of her wounds were almost closed but most were still open but no longer bleeding, and he cleared his throat, "Uh sure." He mumbled as he got off the bed and moved over to sit beside Buffy. He wiped his palms nervously onto his jeans before picking up the antiseptic liquid and some cotton pads and he poured the antiseptic onto one of the pads and dabbed it onto one of the biggest wounds.

"Ouch!" Buffy hissed and jumped when she felt the sting of the antiseptic hit her wounds.

Dean jerked his hand away when she hissed, "Sorry." He said quietly.

Buffy relaxed and turned her head and saw him out the corner of her eye and she smiled slightly, "It's okay, just stings." She turned her head back and looked at her knees, "I haven't had injuries this bad since the Wendigo." She jumped again when Dean moved to another wound.

"It's opened a couple of the Wendigo wounds that haven't finished healing, they're not too bad." Dean said softly.

He took a fresh cotton pad and doused it in antiseptic and moved onto the last of her wounds, which were just a few deep scratches from the glass table she was thrown into the night before. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes until Dean finally spoke, "I'm sorry." His voice was so quiet Buffy wasn't sure if she actually heard him.

"What?"

"For yesterday, when you heard me on the phone; I shouldn't... have yelled... I'm sorry."

Buffy shifted in her seat, "Don't worry about it. Sometimes... I shouldn't have snooped." She apologised back.

Dean stopped cleaning her back and he gently rested a hand on her waist and with the other hand he ran a finger along her back, feeling the pale, healed wounds dotted on her skin. Buffy's skin heated at his touch and she could feel his thumb absently stroking her waist, she closed her eyes and her breath swallowed and she leaned into his touch. Buffy dropped the t-shirt she'd been holding over her chest and it fell to the floor and her shaky hands gripped at her knees. Dean's hand that was on her waist slowly made its way up her side, over her arms and along her shoulders, each movement Buffy whimpered and leaned into him until she turned to him. Dean had never seen anybody move so fast; before he could blink she was facing him, her body pressed against his, her hands gripping his shoulders. Dean's hands travelled up her arms again and slowly moved over her shoulders, up her neck and into her hair. Buffy's hands gripped his shoulders tighter as Dean gripped a handful of her hair and tilted her head back – he smiled at her groan of pleasure – and placed his lips on the curve of her neck and placed butterfly kisses up her neck and along her jaw until finally Buffy had enough and ran her hands through his hair and pulled his head to hers and planted her lips on his violently. Dean made a noise when their mouths parted for a breath but he quickly planted them on Buffy's again hungrily. Buffy let out a little purr of pleasure as Dean kissed her and she pushed into him so he fell further onto the bed until he was lying down and she was on top. Dean's hands found his way to her ass and he pushed her closer to him, Buffy could feel his excitement pressed against her crotch and it only excited her more and she couldnt help but press closer to him to hear him gasp. Dean ran his hands along Buffy's back and held her close and suddenly Buffy screamed out in pain.

Dean was so shocked he pushed her off him, "Ohmygod" he said without taking a breath.

Buffy's cry quietened as soon as he let go and she had a tear running down her face from the pain.

Dean put a hand on her shoulder, "I'm so sorry. You okay?" he asked breathlessly.

Buffy took deep breaths, from the excitement and the pain, and nodded, "My back. It... I guess it's not fully healed yet."

Dean wiped the tear from her cheek and his thumb lingered there for a moment until Buffy let out a breath and moved her face away from his touch. Dean let out a cough and scratched his head as he shifted away from her. "I'm, uh, gonna go to bed."

Buffy let out a breath and nodded and slowly started off the bed and ran to the bathroom. Locking the door behind her she gripped the sink till her knuckles were whiter than the porcelain and she stared at herself in the mirror: her hair was a mess on the side Dean was gripping, and her lips were red from kissing him so hard, her entire face was flushed.

She shook her head as she turned the faucet, "Buffy what are you doing?" she said to herself and splashed cold water on her face. When she had finally calmed down from the pain in her back, and the excitement of kissing Dean, she went back into the room and found Dean under the covers of one of the beds and out like a light. She grabbed some pyjamas and a towel and went back into the bathroom and drew a bath. She didn't know how long she was in the bathroom for but she didn't get out the bath till she started to prune and then she sat on the toilet and plucked her eyebrows and when she finally emerged from the bathroom, with her hair almost dry and clean pyjamas on, Sam was back and asleep on the second bed; Dean on one bed and Sam on the other.

"Crap." Buffy muttered to herself. She now realised she was either on the couch or sharing with one of the boys.

Her mind was telling her to share with Sam because she could trust herself laying beside him – unlike if she shared with Dean god knows what she would end up doing to him – but he seemed to take up a lot of the bed, all six-foot-and-then-some of him, whereas Dean was asleep on one side of the bed and there was plenty of room beside him. She stood there for a good ten minutes before she started to get cold and she thought "fuck it" and climbed in beside Dean who didn't even stir when she climbed under the covers and lay next to him. She tried to keep enough distance from him and shut her eyes tightly and force herself to sleep but her body was very aware of him sleeping beside her and it wanted more of his hands on her skin. She tossed and turned for at least an hour before her mind gave up and shut down for the night.

The next morning Buffy woke feeling rested for a change, sleeping all the time on over used flat mattresses hardly gave Buffy a few good hours sleep but this had to be the first night she slept all the way through the night. When she shifted to get comfy again and go back to sleep there was another movement in her bed and a weight on her hip that made her open her eyes. The light streaming through the window blinded her for a second but when her eyes finally adjusted to the light she saw a chest inches from her face. Her eyes moved slowly upwards and saw Dean's sleeping face; shifting a little to prop herself up with one arm, she looked around the room: the bed Sam was asleep in the night before was empty and made, she couldnt hear Sam anywhere else in the room; when Dean shifted in his sleep he moved the hand that was rested on her hip around her back and snuggled closer to her and he buried his face in her neck. Buffy waited till Dean's breath evened out and he stopped moving too slowly ease her way out of bed, she gently took Dean's hand and moved it off her as she slid out of the bed. She let go of his hand when he rolled over and she took the opportunity to grab some clothes and run to the bathroom.

Once she was fully dressed she left the bathroom, finding Dean standing right outside. They both looked at each other for a second before looking at everything but at each other, they both grunted a hello to each other and Buffy stepped out the bathroom and Dean stepped in, slamming the door behind him. Buffy noticed Sam sat at the small table with food and coffee spread out; he was helping himself to the food on the table and was looking at her in a way Buffy couldnt decipher.

He held out a coffee and she took it, sitting down next to him and taking out a croissant out the paper bag in the middle of the table. She ate and drank her coffee in silence, pretending not to notice Sam watching her and glancing at the bathroom where Dean was still inside.

Buffy threw her croissant on the table and looked at Sam, "What?"

Sam widened his eyes and looked innocent and shrugged his shoulders, "Nothing."

Buffy sighed, "Just say what's on your mind Sam"

Sam took a drink of his coffee then grinned at her, "What happened with you and Dean last night?"

Buffy tried not to look shocked, "Nothing."

Sam laughed, "Please. I went out to get food and I came back to clothes on the floor and Dean asleep."

Buffy sighed, "We didn't do anything. I went for a bath, Dean went to sleep." She explained with an edge to her voice.

Sam raised an eyebrow, "But... something happened."

Buffy flinched and picked at her croissant but didn't say anything which Sam took as a sign that something did happen but she didn't want to talk about it. When Dean came out the bathroom, cleaner and his cuts and bruises patched up and wearing a grey t-shirt with an open red shirt over it with faded jeans Buffy couldnt help but stare for a few seconds then quickly stated that she was going out for a walk and to call her if they needed her.

Sam looked over at the front door, "What's up with her?" He asked coolly.

Dean shrugged and sat on the edge of the bed, "Beat's me" he said as he put on his boots.

Sam took a drink of his coffee, "What's up with you?"

Dean looked up at his brother, "Me? I'm fine."

Sam didn't say anything for a second, he waited until Dean finished putting on his boots and as he got up and took a coffee from the polystyrene holder he said, "So I noticed you two in bed together last night. Care to explain?"

Dean hovered the coffee cup to his mouth and thought for a second, "There's nothing to explain." He said and took a swig of coffee. When he swallowed he asked, "How did finding dad go? Caleb heard from him?"

Sam was about to scoff back about there was definitely something to explain but instead he dropped it, for now, and answered, "Neither has Jefferson or Pastor Jim." Sam called them while he was out getting breakfast, "What about the journal? Any leads in there?"

Dean put down the coffee and shook his head, "No. Same last time I looked. Nothin' I can make out." A small smile played on his lips as he sat in the empty seat at the table, "I love the guy, but I swear, he writes like friggin' Yoda." Dean chuckled.

Sam smiled also and after a moment thinking his smile faded, "You know, maybe we should call the Feds. File missing persons."

Dean stuck his hand inside the brown bag on the table and pulled out a doughnut, "We talked about this. Dad would be pissed if we put the Feds on his tail." He explained and took a huge bite out of the doughnut in his hand.

Sam sighed in frustration, "I don't care anymore." He groaned as a faint ringing surrounded the room. Dean got out of his seat and went in search of the cell phone as Sam continued, "After all that happened back in Kansas, I mean…he should've been there, Dean. You said so yourself, you tried to call him, and nothing."

Dean grunted as he searched under the bed he slept in the night before, "I know. Where the hell is my cell phone?"

"You know, he could be dead for all we know." Sam said ignoring his question.

Dean got up off the floor and looked straight at Sam, "Don't say that. He's not dead. He's…he's…" he trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence; instead he picked up his jeans he wore the night before and rummaged through the pockets.

"He's what? He's hiding? He's busy?" Sam asked irritant, he figured his father was probably drunk in a bar somewhere like his brother usually is and so it annoyed him that he was spending all this time searching for someone who wasn't missing let alone didn't care. Dean pulled the cell phone out from his jeans pocket, flipping the phone open he read the text message and his face fell. "I don't believe it." He said, his mouth lifting into a tiny smile.

Sam sat straighter, "What?"

Dean sat down on the bed and looked at Sam, "It's a text message. It's coordinates."

Sam's face fell, "What?" he asked again.

Dean jumped over his bed and over to Sam's bed and pulled the laptop from underneath the bed and sat it on the counter and opened it up and started clicking away on the keyboard.

"You think Dad was texting us?" Sam asked, getting out of his seat and moving around the table.

Dean shrugged, "He's given us coordinates before." He said as he typed every few seconds.

"The man can barely work a toaster, Dean." Sam exclaimed as he stood beside his brother and glanced at the computer screen.

Dean looked over at his brother, "Sam, this is good news. It means he's okay. Or alive, at least." He replied then went back to his research.

"Well, was there a number on the caller ID?"

Dean shook his head, "No, it said "unknown"."

Sam sighed, "Okay, well, where do the coordinates point?"

Dean sat back in his seat and turned his gaze to Sam, "That's the interesting part –- Rockford, Illinois."

Sam raised his brows, "Okay, and that's interesting how?"

Dean put his attention back onto the computer and opened a page, "I checked the local Rockford paper. Take a look at this." He turned the laptop so Sam could see the page; it was a picture of a cop with some writing beside the picture, like an article. "This cop, Walter Kelly, comes home from his shift, shoots his wife, puts the gun in his mouth, and blows his brains out. And earlier that night, Kelly and his partner responded to a call at the Roosevelt Asylum." Dean explained.

Sam nodded then sighed, "Okay, I'm not following. What does this have to do with us?"

"Dad earmarked the same asylum in the journal." Dean stated and leaned forward and picked up the journal that was in the middle of the table, he flipped through a few pages before finding the newspaper clipping about the asylum. Dean glanced up and saw Buffy coming through the door as he read part of the clipping. " Here. Seven unconfirmed sightings, two deaths –- 'til last week, at least. I think this is where he wants us to go."

Buffy shut the door behind her, "Who?"

Sam started pacing the room, "This is a job. Dad wants us to work a job."

Buffy's eyes widened in surprise, "Your dad? You found him?"

Dean swivelled in his seat and watched his brother pace, "I mean, maybe we'll meet up with him, maybe he's there."

Sam stopped pacing and turned around, "Maybe he's not. I mean, he could be sending us there by ourselves to hunt this thing."

"Um does someone want to tell me what's going on?" Buffy asked, still standing by the front door.

Dean got up and picked up his jacket, "Who cares? If he wants us there, that's good enough for me." He stated.

Sam also picked up his jacket, "This doesn't strike you as weird? The texting? The coordinates?" he asked, unable to believe it was his dad who texted them.

Dean turned and looked at his brother with authority, "Sam, Dad's tellin' us to go somewhere –- we're going."

Sam sighed but didn't respond and Buffy cleared her throat, when the boys looked at her she mock smiled, "Oh you both do remember that I'm here!" Her face and voice turned serious, "Wanna tell me what's going on?"

Dean headed for the door, he stopped when he reached Buffy and he was inches away from her, Buffy began to blush as flashbacks from the night before replayed in her mind.

"Get your stuff we're going. Sam will fill you in on what's going on." He said softly and it took him a moment to carry on walking out the door.

Sam filled Buffy in on what was going on as Dean drove to Illinois. Halfway there they decided to plan on how to get more information. Sam continued to read through Walter Kelly's police file on the laptop, "Why dont we question the partner? I mean he went with Kelly to the Asylum but he's fine. Maybe he knows something."

Buffy stretched out her legs on the back seat, "That's a good idea but how are we going to talk to him? I mean if it was me I wouldn't want to talk to anyone about it."

Dean took a quick look at Sam to get his attention, "How about we send in Blondie to flirt with him, he's bound to fold like a house of cards and tell her anything she wants to know" Dean suggested as he rounded a corner and switched gears.

Buffy snorted, "Thanks, Pimp. No way. I'm not flirting with some guy to get information. Forget it." She said as she lightly punched the back of Dean's seat.

Dean chuckled at Buffy's reaction, "Well do you have a better plan?"

Buffy moved closer so she could see both boys, "Actually. I do."

Buffy was perched on the hood of the Impala in the dark, only the light from the bar ahead and the street light beside the car helped her see around, her hands wrapped around a Styrofoam cup full of hot chocolate. After the incident of listening to Gwen Stefani in his car Dean didn't let her sit inside it by herself anymore so she had to sit outside while she waited for Dean to come back from the bar. She occasionally got a few looks from some of the drunken bikers or drunken men in general, some whistled and shouted a few obscenities but none actually approached her. She'd nearly finished her now cold hot chocolate and was shaking with cold when Dean came out of the bar with a pissed off look on his face. He quickly made his way to Buffy and she quickly jumped off the hood of the car, "Thank God, I'm freezing my butt off out here. You okay?" she asked through chattering teeth as Dean put the keys in the lock.

Dean sighed, "I'm fine. Sam just took his role a little too seriously." He said as he opened the back seat door and Buffy climbed in halfway and rummaged through the bag on the seat.

"So plan in underway. Good. How long do you reckon it'll take?" Buffy asked as she pulled her red leather jacket out from the bag. Dean was barely able to refrain himself from looking at her ass as she wiggled about inside the car, "Uhh, I dont know. Half hour to an hour at least."

Buffy finally emerged from the car and turned to face Dean and they were almost face to face. The night before raced through Buffy's mind, his lips on her's, her hand's running through his soft hair and she felt her face flush. They both cleared their throats and Dean stepped back and Buffy hastily put her jacket on and she scratched her head. "So do you think Sam will get any information?" She asked hastily to remove the tension.

Dean perched on the hood of the car and shrugged, "Let's hope. This guy's our only lead." He mumbled.

Buffy sighed, she knew this was going to happen, she knew he was going to avoid her as much as he could. She moved in front of him and poked him in the stomach, "Hey."

When Dean looked up Buffy gave him a small smile, "Look about what happened last night... I don't want it to get between us okay? I mean we were both wired up from adrenaline and well you know the rest but I dont want that to interfere with what we're doing. We're around each other all the time; I don't want it to be awkward." She said, her teeth still chattering from the cold.

Dean didn't speak for a few minutes then nodded, "You're right. Let's just say last night never happened. Let's forget all about it and go back to normal. Can you do that?"

_No, _Buffy thought but she nodded instead, "Can you?" was the question she wanted to know.

Dean nodded, "I can." _I can try, _was what he wanted to say.

Buffy smiled a little, "So we're good?"

Dean smiled and nodded, "We're good. You still cold?"

Buffy nodded and violently shivered, "I think I need to invest in a warmer coat, I didn't think it was going to be this cold here."

Dean laughed, "Wuss. Here." He removed his black jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders, Buffy held it close, their fingers touched and neither moved them away.

"Thank you." Buffy said softly as she pulled his jacket tighter around her shoulders and Dean moved his hand away and crossed his arms.

They both stayed like that for a while, Dean sat on his car and Buffy in front of him, either standing in silence or saying the occasional mundane thing to fill the awkward silence. Eventually Sam exited the bar and walked to the car where Dean was waiting with a pissed expression.

"You shoved me kind of hard in there, buddy boy." Dean stated as Sam stopped next to him.

Sam looked from Dean to Buffy, noticing she had Dean's jacket wrapped around her shoulders, and back to Dean, "I had to sell it, didn't I? It's method acting."

Dean arched an eyebrow, "Huh?"

Sam shook his head, "Never mind." He said and walked around to the passenger side of the car.

"What'd you find out from Gunderson?" Dean asked as he turned around to face Sam.

Sam rested his arms on the top of the car, "So, Walter Kelly was a good cop: Head of his class, even-keeled. He had a bright future ahead of him."

Buffy, who was still stood beside Dean, spoke, "What about at home?"

"He and his wife had a few fights, like everybody, but it was mostly smooth sailing. They were even talking about having kids." Sam explained.

Dean nodded, "All right, so, either Kelly had some deep-seated crazy way to bust out, or somethin' else did it to him."

Sam nodded, "Right."

"What'd Gunderson tell you about the asylum?" Dean asked.

Sam looked straight at Dean and gave one quick smile, "A lot."

"So we should go check it out?" Buffy asked moving her way to open the back of the car to get inside.

"Let's look tomorrow, I'm pretty tired." Dean stated as he opened the driver door.

"You're tired?" Sam asked with a little laugh.

Dean nodded, took a quick glance at Buffy then back at Sam, "You know... from driving." He said and got inside.

Sam looked at Buffy, whose face was almost red as she climbed inside the car, and smiled, "Yeah, right." He said and got inside.

They found a motel pretty quickly and got two rooms out and Buffy took all her stuff to her own room and shut herself inside. She didn't talk to either of them until Sam knocked on her door the next morning to wake her up. They drove out to Roosevelt Asylum, the whole thing was fenced off and the place looked like nobody had been inside for years. They parked out of sight and they all stood by the fence.

"Looks like we have to jump" Sam sighed and put his hands on his hips, he hated jumping fences.

Dean looked at Buffy with a smile, "Bad day to wear heals huh?" he said with a chuckle.

Buffy looked down at her boots, the heal was barely an inch, then back to Dean with a smile, "you underestimate me." She said then jumped; as she jumped she grabbed the fence and pushed herself – almost like a cartwheel – over the fence. She landed in a crouch and she turned as she stood to see the stunned faces of the pair. Sam then grabbed the fence and climbed his way up and landing on his feet on the other side, followed quickly by Dean. Sam started up the steps and Dean walked beside Buffy, "Show off." He said as they both followed behind Sam.

The front door to the Asylum was open and all three started to look around, every inch of the building was covered in graffiti, empty beer bottles and cans thrown about the place. It smelled of dust, smoke and stale beer.

"So apparently, the cops chased the kid's here-" Sam stopped when he reached the centre of the room and pointed to a chained up door to his right, "-into the south wing." Above the door was an old paint sign with "South Wing" written in red but was not heavily chipped.

Dean looked at the door, "The south wing, huh? Wait a second." He pulled out his father's journal from the inside pocket of his jacket and flipped through the pages until he found the one he was looking for.

"Listen. 'In 1972, three kids broke into the south wing. Only one survived.' The way he tells it, one of his friends went nuts and started lightin' up the place." Dean stated.

Buffy came back from wandering around the room and stood beside Sam, "So, whatever's going on, the south wing seems like the heart of it."

Dean nodded, "Yeah, but if kids are spelunking the asylum, why aren't there a ton more deaths?" he asked rhetorically as he flipped through a few more pages.

Sam took a closer look at the door and noticed the chains to keep the door locked have been cut. "Looks like the doors are usually chained. Could have been chained up for years." He said as he made his way closer to the door.

Dean put the journal back inside his jacket, "Yeah, to keep people out –- or to keep somethin' in." He said as he stood beside Sam.

Sam gently pushed one of the double doors and it slowly opened, eerily creaking as it did so, and all three of them shared an uneasy look. Dean pulled out his EMF meter and went inside the south wing, Buffy and Sam walked either side of him.

As they walked down the hallway through the south wing Buffy noticed the peeling paint on the walls, the patches of mould forming on the ceilings and the corners of the walls and the entire place was dark except for the light of day pouring through the windows.

"Let me know if you see any dead people, Haley Joel." Dean said with an amused tone to Sam as he walked in front with the EMF meter.

"Dude, enough." Sam said hastily.

Dean chuckled, "No, I'm serious, you've gotta be careful, all right? Ghosts are attracted to that whole ESP thing you've got goin' on." He said as he looked at the EMF meter.

"I told you, it's not ESP. I just have... strange vibes sometimes, weird dreams." Sam explained.

"Yeah, whatever. Don't ask, don't tell." Dean muttered as he looked from the meter to the hallway in front of him.

Buffy cleared her throat and placed a reassuring hand on Sam's shoulder, "You gettin' a reading on that thing or not?" She asked mainly to change the subject, she wasn't that interested.

"Nope. Of course, it doesn't mean nobody's home." Dean stated

"Spirits can appear during certain hours of the day." Sam suggested.

"And the freaks come out at night." Dean sighed and both Sam and Buffy nodded in agreement, "Hey, Sam, who do you think is a hotter psychic –- Patricia Arquette, Jennifer Love Hewitt, or you?" he asked, still looking at the meter. Buffy laughed, Sam smiled and hit Dean on the arm and Dean cracked up the rest of the way down the corridor until they finally found a door.

All three grimaced as they entered the room, Buffy actually groaned as she grimaced – despite her slayer activities she did before she met the boys she was still disgusted by some of the things they found. There were several tables in the room and there were jars on almost every table, and each jar held a different body part inside. There were various tools scattered around the room, there was even a beheaded doll on one of the table. Dean tapped at the EMF meter in his hand and eventually decided it wasn't going to work so he put it away inside his jacket. They all walked around different parts of the room to take a closer look at things.

"Man. Electroshock, lobotomies –- they did some twisted stuff to these people. Kind of like my man, Jack in Cuckoo's Nest." Dean stopped and grinned wickedly towards Sam and Buffy at the last part, Sam rolled his eyes and continued looking around and Buffy just started at him with a "how can you make a joke right now?" face and Dean's smile faded and he carried on looking, "So, what do you think? Ghosts are possessing people?" he asked seriously.

Sam stopped and just looked around where he stood, "Maybe. Or maybe it's more like, uh, like Amityville or the Smurl haunting." He stated.

Dean turned around, "Yeah, spirits driving them insane." He started walking to where Sam was stood, "Kind of like my man Jack in The Shining." He smiled. Buffy smiled and let out a little laugh as she continued to wander around the room but Sam still didn't smile at Dean's jokes.

Sam quickly glanced at Buffy and when she was at the other side of the room he looked at his brother, "Dean…when are we gonna talk about it?" he asked quietly.

Dean stopped in front of Sam and turned to face him, "Talk about what?"

"About the fact that Dad's not here." Sam replied still quietly, Buffy now realising that neither have learned of her powerful hearing, almost like a vampires, but she tried to make it look like she wasn't listening in and examined the stuff on the dusty table in front of her.

Dean quickly looked over at Buffy who was examining some of the jars and making some noises and curse words, "Oh, uh, let's see, never."

"I'm being serious, man."

Dean moved closer to Sam, "So am I, Sam. Look, he sent us here, he obviously wants us here. We'll just have to pick up the search later."

Sam shook his head, "It doesn't matter what he wants."

Dean pointed a finger and poked Sam in the chest, "See, that attitude right there? That is why I always get the extra cookie." He joked with a serious face.

"Dad could be in trouble. We should be looking for him. We deserve some answers, Dean, I mean; this is our family we're talkin' about."

"I understand that, Sam. But he's given us an order." Dean said his voice raising a few decibels.

Sam shrugged, "So, what? We've got to always follow Dad's orders?"

"Of course we do." Dean retorted, Sam gave him an annoyed look but Dean just turned back around and started playing with one of the machines on the table.

"Hey when you two are finished with your domestic you both might be interested in this." Buffy said as she walked towards them and handed Dean a plaque. On the plaque it read: "Chief of Staff. Sanford Ellicott, MD".

"Sanford Ellicott." Dean said as he read the plaque then looked up at Sam, "You know what we've got to do? We've gotta find out more about the south wing, and see if somethin' happened here." He spat and handed Sam the plaque as he walked past him and left the room. Sam looked at the plaque before throwing it on a nearby table and following Dean. Buffy sighed as she followed, "God who needs TV when you work with these two" she grumbled to herself.

When they reached outside Buffy waited till the boys hopped the fence before she did her fancy jump cartwheel over the fence and followed them to the car. "So what's the plan now?"

Sam stopped and looked at Buffy before getting inside the car, "Find out more about this Ellicott, see if he has any relatives or anything left and talk to them." He stated.

Buffy walked around to her side of the car and looked at Sam and Dean, "So you dont need me for that right?"

"Why?" Dean asked before she even finished her sentence.

Buffy looked to Dean, "Well you two do such a good job on the research thing and I'm so bad so I was going to go into town and get myself a new jacket cause its fucking freezing here." She stated sweetly.

Dean and Sam looked at each other for a moment and Dean finally looked back at her, "Okay. We'll drop you off in town and we'll call you when we have a plan." He said and got inside the car.

Buffy sat outside a cafe all nice and warn in her new coat. It was a long dark red leather coat, almost the same as the one she had in Sunnydale, with buttons and lots of pockets inside. She wandered around after finding her jacket for a while then decided to get a coffee before calling Dean to find out where they were to meet up with them. She sat outside a Starbucks with a latte and she called Dean.

He picked up on the third ring, "Hello?"

"Hey it's me. I'm all done here, where are you guys?" Buffy asked down the line and sipped her latte.

"We're at, uh, Creekview Medical Center – Sam's talking to Ellicott's son."

Buffy saw a sign for that earlier as she was walking around, "Okay, I'm not far from there, I'll be there in five." She said then hung up, downed the last of her latte and then jogged her way to the Medical Center .

A few minutes later Buffy spotted Dean waiting outside the building. When he saw her approach he looked at his watch, "That was hardly five minutes." He stated.

Buffy smiled, "Yeah well I'm a fast runner." She replied. "Soo?" she smiled and held out her arms and slowly spun around, she stopped when she faced Dean and put her arms down, "What do you think?"

Dean looked at the jacket and nodded, "It's nice. You look good. I mean the jacket- the jacket makes you look good. I mean... the jacket is nice." Dean stumbled on his words and sighed.

Buffy laughed, "Thanks I guess. Oh and look!" she opened the jacket to reveal the inside pockets, "It has loads of pockets and they're pretty big. Now you can teach me to shoot."

Dean shook his head, "Wait. What? You want to learn to shoot a gun?"

Buffy buttoned up her jacket and sighed, "No I want you to teach me to learn to shoot a camera. Of course I mean a gun." She stated.

Dean shook his head again, "I don't get it. I thought you hated guns?"

Buffy thought for a moment before replying, "I do but... you guys use guns all the time and I figured it wouldn't hurt to learn. I might not use one but if something happened and I had to use a gun I'd want to use it right and not accidentally shoot myself or something." She explained.

Dean listened then nodded, "Okay." He finally said.

When the door behind Dean opened they both looked to see Sam walking out.

Dean ran and walked beside Sam, "Dude, you were in there forever. What the hell were you talkin' about?"

Buffy jogged until she was walking beside them.

"Just the hospital, you know." Sam said as he walked to the car.

"And?" Dean asked impatiently.

Sam looked at Dean as he walked, "And the south wing? That's where they housed the real hard cases –- the psychotics, the criminally insane."

"Sounds cosy." Dean said dryly.

"Yeah, and one night in '64, they rioted –- attacked staff, attacked each other." Sam said as they reached the parking lot.

"So, what, the patients took over the asylum?" Buffy asked quickly following behind, her small legs working harder to catch up with their long legs.

"Apparently." Sam replied.

"Any deaths?" Dean asked.

"Some patients, some staff. I guess it was pretty gory." Sam said and slowly came to a stop at the trunk of the Impala, Buffy and Dean stopped also, "Some of the bodies were never even recovered, including our Chief of Staff, Ellicott." Sam finished.

"Wait, what do you mean, "never recovered"?" Dean asked confused.

"Cops scoured every inch of the place, but I guess the patients must have…stuffed the bodies somewhere hidden." Sam said the last few words slowly with a little grimace.

Buffy made a pained noise and Dean looked surprised, "Oh, that's grim."

Sam nodded, "Yeah. So, they transferred all the surviving patients and shut down the hospital for good."

"All right, so, to sum it up, we've got a bunch of violent deaths and a bunch of unrecovered bodies." Dean exclaimed.

"Which could mean a bunch of angry spirits." Sam replied.

"Oh, good times." Dean joked, "Let's check out the hospital tonight." He said as he walked to the driver's side and Buffy and Sam walked around the car to get in also, "in the meantime why dont we teach you how to shoot." Dean said to Buffy with a smile.

Buffy smiled and Sam looked at them confused, "Have I missed something?"

Buffy looked at Sam, "I want to learn how to use a gun. I've asked Dean to teach me." She explained.

Sam looked at her with surprise, "Oh, okay. You guys can go do that but you can drop me off at the motel first."

"Wait, you're not helping?" Dean asked quickly.

Sam laughed, "Hell no! I dont want to get shot or something. Good luck." He laughed and got inside the car.

Buffy opened the door and yelled inside "Hey I won't be that bad! Thanks for the vote of confidence"

Dean dropped Sam off at the motel, picked up some beer from the store then he and Buffy drove out to the middle of nowhere. Dean drove through a dirt road and parked beside a tree, all around them was fields, a tree, some rocks, and more fields.

"Okay I get why we're in the middle of nowhere but what's the beers for?" Buffy asked as she got out of the car.

Dean picked up the beers as he got out and put them on the top of the car, "We need something to shoot at." He said with a smile and opened up the trunk. Buffy looked over his shoulder and examined all the guns.

"What about that one?" Buffy pointed to a random gun in the pile.

Dean looked at her, "A rifle? There's no way I'm giving you a rifle." He stated and pulled out his favourite silver hand gun.

Dean lined up a few of the cans along the rocks a few feet away from them then came back to Buffy and handed her the gun. "How does that feel?"

Buffy weighed the gun in her hand a few times, "It's okay."

"Not too heavy?" he asked as he walked behind her.

Buffy weighed the gun in both hands and shook her head, "Nope."

"Okay what I want you to do is stand to the side," Dean put his hands on her hips and moved her sideways, "Spread you feet shoulder width apart," when Buffy spread her feet he continued, "okay keep both eyes open, concentrate on the first can," he took her wrist and slowly brought up her hand with the gun, "Slowly bring your arm up," he moved his hand to her shoulder and he leaned close to talk into her ear, "breathe, take your time, and shoot." A few seconds later Buffy pulled the trigger and her arm pulled back from the force of the gun, the first can flew off the rock.

Buffy smiled, "I did it!" she yelled and laughed.

Dean smiled, "Well done, now let's see if you can do it again."

Buffy calmed herself and got back into the sideways stance, she concentrated on the second beer can, slowly lifted the gun and fired a shot, this time her hand didn't get pushed back as far from the force of the shot. The second can jumped off the rock. Buffy squealed and jumped up and down.

For the next few hours Dean taught Buffy how to shoot in different positions, crouching, hiding behind something, rolling then firing. All of which Buffy was surprisingly good at which finally convinced him to give her a bigger gun. He took his handgun and handed her a shot gun, "Now this is what we generally use the most so let's see how good you are with one of these."

Buffy took the shotgun, she could feel the weight of this one in her hand, it was a lot heavier than the handgun but it wasn't uncomfortable. Dean showed her how to open the gun and pop in some rounds and helped her pull back the pump on the bottom of the gun to load the shells ready for fire. As the gun was bigger Buffy had to use both hands to hold the gun and fire. When she pulled the trigger the force of the gun caused her to drop it and stumble backwards, luckily Dean was behind her and caught her before she fell. Buffy groaned and rubbed her shoulder where the butt of the gun hit her as she fired. "I think that one is too big for me. Can I just use the hand gun?" she asked.

Dean took the shotgun, unloaded the rounds, and put it back inside and took out his sawn-off shotgun and reloaded it. "Try this one, It's the same as the other one but smaller." He said handing it to her.

Buffy didn't have to use both hands this time as she fired and once again Buffy learnt to fire the shotgun in different positions. The last position she did was crouching, picking up the gun from the floor and quickly standing to fire, she managed to hit the can but lost her footing as she stood and again she dropped the gun and fell sideways straight into Dean. They both went tumbling to the ground, Buffy laughing her ass off and Dean a little surprised and winded from Buffy falling on him.

"Oh my god that was so much fun! I never thought shooting a gun would be. I've always thought they were useless things but who knew firing one could be so exhilarating!" she exclaimed a little breathless on top of Dean smiling down at his surprised face. Her smile faded but she continued to look down at Dean, occasionally she looked from his eyes to his lips and she felt herself blush at the thoughts coming back to her again. Suddenly Dean grabbed her shoulder and pushed her off and rolled over so he was on top and he looked at her for a few seconds before planting his lips on hers. Buffy grabbed his jacket and pulled him closer and deepened the kiss. Buffy was running her hands through his hair and smiling between kisses as he purred at her touch when she felt something vibrate on her groin then the booming sound of rock music coming from Dean's pocket. Dean broke the kiss and said a few swear words as he sat up on his knees and Buffy inched herself away from him to sit up in the grass. Flipping open his cell phone he sighed and swore again.

"This better be important." He said icily down the phone.

Buffy couldnt hear the other end but she assumed by Dean's expression that it was Sam.

"Yeah we've – uh – just finished up," Dean wiped Buffy's lip gloss from his lips and smiled a little, "She's pretty good actually... Yeah sure, we'll meet you there." Dean flipped the phone back down when he finished talking and he put it back inside his pocket.

He looked everywhere but at Buffy, "Sam thinks we should eat before we head back to the mental home... I said we would meet him there." He explained slowly again not looking directly at her.

Buffy cleared her throat and nodded, "O...Okay." she barely got the word out and slowly got to her feet when Dean stood up.

She dusted the pollen off her jacket as she walked back to the car and practically fell into Dean who was just stood there with a pained expression on his face.

"I can't do this..." he said softly, barely looking at her.

Buffy raised a brow and looked at him like he was crazy, "Do what?"

With his hand he pointed back and forth between them both, "_This! _US... I can't do it. Not with you."

Buffy felt like she just got slapped in the face, her expression soured, "Okay, what exactly is it you can't do with me?"

Dean didn't say anything for a few minutes, "Anything. Believe me I _want _to but I... I just can't" he looked straight over her shoulder, didn't make eye contact.

Buffy crossed her arms, "Is it because I'm a Slayer? You think I'm a freak right?"

Dean finally looked at her, "What? No. Look, I don't have many people I can trust and... and I dont want anything to ruin that... and believe me when I say that that's what'll happen if we... you know." Dean tried to explain as calm as possible and gave her a little smile at the end.

Buffy just stared at him for a moment. Why was he saying this now? Judging by his anatomy pressed against her some three minutes ago he definitely felt something for her and her for him. So why was he backing out now? Buffy would be stupid not to admit that the thought of them getting together going horribly wrong didn't flash through her mind but now she actually contemplated on what would happen if it did happen.

Buffy's eyes found the shotgun a few feet away from her and she picked it up and turned back to face Dean, "You're right. As far as we're concerned nothing happened here. You taught me how to fire a gun and that's all." She nodded as she walked past him and threw the gun into the trunk and got into the passenger seat of the Impala. She waited for a few minutes until Dean decided to head to the car, shut the trunk, and get inside. They didn't talk the entire ride to the diner where Sam was waiting for them.

Later that night, when the sun finally set, they set off for Roosevelt Asylum. Buffy and Dean didn't talk to each other the entire time they ate at the diner when they met up with Sam, they made polite conversation with Sam but didn't talk to each other directly. After they ate they headed straight for Roosevelt Asylum. Dean had his EMF reader out again and Sam had also brought along a video camera, Buffy was carrying the bag full of weapons, she asked to carry them as the heavy bag wouldn't slow her down. She also felt better with the guns close to her, occasionally she had to resist the urge to pull out a gun and shoot Dean in the ass. She still couldn't understand how he went hot with her to cold the next and it was pissing her off. Hence why she hasn't spoken since they left the diner.

As soon as they entered the South Wing the EMF reader was going wild, all the lights flashing and the noise a loud whirring.

"Getting readings?" Sam asked as he held out the camcorder in front of him and looked on the screen.

Dean nodded once and stopped walking, "Yeah, big time."

Buffy and Sam both stopped walking, Sam stopped beside Dean and Buffy still in behind.

"This place is orbing like crazy." Sam said. Dean and Buffy looked over Sam's shoulder at the camcorder screen and saw several white orbs floating all around the corridor.

"Seems like multiple spirits out and about." Buffy spoke up for the first time in hours which caused both Winchester's to look over at her.

Sam looked away from Buffy and back in front of him. "If these unrecovered bodies are causing the haunting…"

Dean also looked away and back infront of him, "We've gotta find 'em and burn 'em. Just be careful, though. The only thing that makes me more nervous than a pissed-off spirit is the pissed-off spirit of a psycho killer." He said and they all began walking again.

Suddenly Buffy felt a cold chill run behind her and it seemed the boys did too as they all stopped and turned around, Sam held up the flashlight but there was nothing to be seen, just the usual dusty clutter there was when they entered.

"I think we're all getting a little paranoid here." Buffy said nervously and they continued walking down the corridor.

They continued down the corridor for a few more minutes until they came to two walkways, double doors to their left and their right, one door on the left was missing and the other wide open so naturally they chose the creepiest option and Buffy followed Sam inside. Dean however walked straight past them and continued down the hallway. Sam stopped when he was a few inches into the room and scanned the area, checking the camcorder to see for any spirits, then headed further in passed a dividing wall and into a room that had rusty surgical beds, old dusty chairs, torn dividers and more creepy jars. He walked and scanned with the camera until he was at the end of the room, the door to where he entered across from him, and he still found nothing, no orbs. Buffy wasn't as far into the room as Sam, she tried to stay as close to the door as possible but far enough inside to keep her eye on Sam. A groan of metal caused Buffy to jump and Sam turned in the direction of the noise and used the flashlight but again found nothing. Buffy had just relaxed and let out a breath when she heard Sam's small scream and a yell for Dean. Looking up she saw an old woman stood in front of Sam, her face bloody with a gouge in her forehead, and she was walking slowly towards him. Instantly Buffy dropped the bag, opened it and took out a gun.

"Dean. Dean! Salt gun!" Sam kept yelling as he walked backwards away from the spirit.

Hearing his brother's cries Dean ran into the room and was pulling out his gun.

Buffy though was already in front of Dean holding up a shotgun, "Get down!" she yelled.

Sam instantly fell to his knees and Buffy aimed at the woman's head and fired a shot, the power from the gun caused her to stumble a few steps but the spirit dissipated – though she knew it wasn't gone completely. Buffy smiled, "I did it!" she laughed.

Sam and Dean, however, were not as full of enthusiasm. Sam got back up off the floor, panting, and Dean just stood behind Buffy with a bit of a pissed expression on his face, not that she could notice.

"That was weird." Sam said, still panting.

"Yeah. You're tellin' me." Dean agreed, "I mean, I never actually thought she could hit one." He finished as he walked back out the room, stopping to pick up the bag Buffy dropped.

Buffy looked on at him stunned, her hand shaking from the power of the shot she loosened her grip on the gun and dropped her hand to her side. "What the hell does that mean?" She asked, her voice echoing in the room made her sound angrier. Though she was angry. Why was he so pissed off with her right now? It was his idea to call it off before they'd even started.

"No, Dean, I mean it was weird that she didn't attack me." Sam stated as he followed Dean out of the room.

Buffy rolled her eyes, "Fine, ignore me like always." She muttered as she followed them a few feet behind.

"Looked pretty aggro from where I was standing." Dean explained as he walked quicker down the corridor, the way he was going before Sam called him back.

Sam shook his head, "She didn't hurt me. She didn't even try. So if she didn't wanna hurt me, then what did she want?" He asked.

Before anyone could answer they heard another noise, like something was dropped, and they stopped right beside a room, again with a missing door, and they looked inside. Right in front of them, at the far wall was an upturned bed and looked like it was once used as a barricade. Sam turned his flashlight back on and pointed it in front, Dean held up his gun and they both headed into the room. Buffy entered with a little distance between them, gun held up, covering their backs in case of any more spirits wanting to come out to play. As they reach closer to the upturned bed Sam's flashlight picked up a blonde figure hiding behind it. Dean raised his gun higher, his finger almost twitching on the trigger, and when they reached the bed Sam pulled on the bed so it fell forward. The blonde figure screamed and turned around, She was a teenage girl and judging by her crying and panting they guessed she wasn't a spirit and so Dean lowered his gun.

"It's all right. We're not gonna hurt you. It's okay." Dean said softly and the girl slowly got to her feet. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Katherine." Her voice was so quiet Buffy hardly heard her, "Kat."

Dean nodded, "Okay. I'm Dean, this is Sam and Buffy." Dean gestured to the people standing in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asked before Dean had barely finished what he was saying.

Kat tugged nervously on the sleeves of her long wool jacket and didn't look them in the eye as she spoke. "Um…my boyfriend, Gavin-"

"Is he here?" Buffy asked hastily.

Kat looked behind Dean at Buffy nervously, "Somewhere." She squeaked, Sam and Dean exchanged one of the usual looks they shared when their plan didn't go quite right. "He thought it would be fun to try and see some ghosts." Kat explained, "I thought it was all just, you know…pretend." She wrapped her woollen jumper around herself, "I've seen things. I heard Gavin scream and-"

Dean held up a hand and Kat instantly stopped trying to explain, "Okay, Kat. Come on, Sam's gonna get you out of here, and then we're gonna find your boyfriend." He said as he headed out the room.

Kat followed but then stopped when she reached Buffy's side, "No, no. I'm not gonna leave without Gavin." She looked at all three of them directly before stopping at Dean, "I'm coming with you."

Dean shook his head "It's no joke around here, okay? It's dangerous."

"That's why I've gotta find him."

Sam and Dean shared another one of their many looks, this one was Sam trying to tell Dean "No freaking way!" and Dean defying.

"All right, I guess we're gonna split up then. Let's go." He left the room and took Kat with him and Buffy and Sam split up and headed off in different directions.

As she walked through the corridor of an old haunted Insane Asylum without a flashlight Buffy could hear Sam yelling Gavin's name but the further she walked the fainter it got. Buffy reached the end of the hallway and she was about to turn back around when she spotted a pair of feet in the room at the end of the hall. Entering the room Buffy saw it was a teenage boy, which she guessed was Gavin, with his eyes closed. She knelt beside him and shook him gently, "Gavin. Hey, Gavin." She shook him again more violently and eventually he opened his eyes, he nearly jumped to his feet when he saw Buffy.

"Hey, it's okay, it's okay. I'm here to help." Buffy said holding her hands out.

Gavin sat up and stared at her with wide eyes, "Who are you?"

"My name is Buffy." She held out a hand for him to take and she helped him to his feet, "We found your girlfriend."

"Kat? Is she all right?" Gavin asked panicked as he stood up.

Buffy let go of his hand, "She's worried about you. Are you okay?"

Gavin placed a hand on the cut on his forehead and he grimaced, "I was running. I…I think I fell."

"You were running from what?"

Gavin looked around the room then turned back to Buffy but he wasn't looking at her but like he was trying to remember who he was running from. "There was - there was this girl. H-h-her face –- it was all messed up."

Buffy placed her hands on Gavin's arms and nodded, "Okay, okay, listen, listen. This girl, did she try to hurt you?" she asked hastily.

Gavin shook his head, "What? No. She, uh…" he trailed off and looked away from her.

Buffy noticed the embarrassment on his face, "She what?"

Gavin slowly looked back at Buffy and his face was twisted in a pained expression, "She kissed me."

Buffy blinked a couple of times, unsure as to whether she actually heard what he said properly, afterwards she shook her head quickly, "But –- but she didn't hurt you physically?" she asked.

Gavin stared at her like she was an idiot, "Lady. She kissed me. I'm scarred for life." He groaned and crossed his arms.

Buffy scoffed, "Well, trust me, it could've been worse." It could have been a whole lot worse, _You could have been killed, for example, _"Now, do you remember anything else?"she asked.

Gavin started shaking his head but stopped and held up a hand, "She…actually, she tried to whisper something in my ear." He replied quietly.

Buffy's grip on his arms tightened, "What? What did she say?"

Gavin shook her off his arms, "I don't know, I ran like hell."

Buffy shook her head again and opened her mouth to speak when all of a sudden a scream filled the entire Asylum.

"Kat!" Gavin yelled and shoved past Buffy and ran to the scream.

Buffy chased after him and they both stopped when they saw Dean trying to pry open a door with a crowbar, the banging and screaming on the other side of the door was Kat.

"What's going on?" Buffy asked as she reached his side.

"She's inside with one of them." Dean said as he tried to open the door with the crowbar again.

"Help me!" Kat's muffled cry came from the other side of the door.

Gavin banged on the door, "Kat!"

Dean turned to Buffy, "You have to get this open. I'm not strong enough."

Buffy looked at him for a few moments then Kat's banging brought her back and she grabbed the door handle and started to pull. It wouldn't budge. Buffy pulled again and this time she didn't hold anything back and the door opened slightly before slamming shut again, the force of the door slamming shut pulled Buffy forward and her entire body was slammed into the door, she felt her elbow crack on impact and she stifled a scream as she let go and stumbled back into the wall.

"What's happening?" Buffy, clutching her elbow, looked up and saw Sam coming up beside her and looking at the commotion going on. Both Dean and Gavin were trying to break into the door.

"A spirit has Kat. It won't let her out. We've tried but... ow" Buffy tried to move her elbow but the pain was too severe.

"Get me out of here!" Kat's screams were getting louder.

Sam left Buffy's side and stood beside the door, "Kat, it's not gonna hurt you. Listen to me! You have to face it. You have to calm down."

"She's gotta what?" Dean said.

"I have to what?" Kat yelled at the same time.

Buffy moved so she was beside Sam and she looked at Dean, "Sam's right." She then spoke loud enough for Kat to hear, "The spirits –- they're not trying to hurt us, they're trying to communicate. You've gotta listen to it, you've gotta face it."

"You face it!" Came Kat's remark on the other side.

"It's the only way you're gonna get out of there." Sam yelled to her.

"No!" Kat cried.

"Just look at it, that's all. Come on, you can do it." Buffy yelled.

Kat finally stopped yelling and all four of them waited nervously.

"I hope you're both right about this." Dean said quietly to Sam and Buffy.

Buffy nodded and tried to stretch her elbow, it still gave her pain up her arm but it wasn't so bad that she couldn't move, it definitely needed to be popped back into place but she could do it later. "Yeah, me too." She agreed.

A few minutes later there was a loud click and the door holding Kat inside slowly opened, Kat was stood right at the door her face in a daze.

"Kat." Gavin called. When she heard his voice Kat came out of her trance, Dean pulled her out of the room and Sam took a look inside, Kat clung to Gavin's arm, Sam came back out the room – his facial expression telling them that the room was empty.

"One thirty-seven." Kat mumbled.

"Sorry?" Dean asked, blinking a few times.

"It whispered in my ear, "137."" She explained.

Dean looked at Sam and they both knew what it meant. "Room number." They said in unison. Sam and Dean crouched on the floor and took some weapons out of the duffel bag.

Sam took out a shotgun and filled his pockets with salt rounds, "All right, so if these spirits aren't trying to hurt anyone-"

"Then what are they tryin' to do?" Dean asked as he took out his sawn off shotgun and put it inside his jacket, also filling his pockets with salt rounds.

"Maybe that's what they've been tryin' to tell us." Buffy said leaning over and taking a handful of salt rounds and putting them in her deep coat pockets.

"I guess we'll find out." Dean said and stood up. "So…now, are you guys ready to leave this place?" he asked Kat and Gavin.

"That's an understatement." Kat sighed.

Dean nodded, "Okay." He looked at Sam and handed him the duffel, "You get 'em outta here. I'm gonna go find room 137." When he heard Buffy clear her throat he sighed, "Sorry. _We_ will find room 137" he nodded once with his head and he and Buffy went in one direction and Sam left in the other with Kat and Gavin.

Sam led Kat and Gavin back the way they came, past the room where they found Kat earlier, past rooms Sam knew he'd seen before. Unlike Dean, Sam had a good sense of direction. Sam took the lead with Kat and Gavin behind him.

"So, how do you guys know about all this ghost stuff?" Kat asked, trying to fill the uneasy silence.

"It's kind of our job." Sam said without looking at her, he kept his focus on the way out, his flashlight scanning every area of the hall.

Kat sighed, "Why would anyone want a job like that?"

Sam snorted and glanced at Kat, who was now beside him, "I had a crappy guidance counsellor."

"And Dean? He's your boss?"

Sam looked down at Kat and smiled slightly, "No." He said as he turned a corner.

"Is Buffy your boss?" She asked as she followed him out.

Sam didn't bother replying, instead he just sighed.

In the opposite direction Buffy was definitely lost, there was no way she'd be able to find her way out alone. They headed up a flight of stairs and were now in the 100's so she knew they were going the right way. With his flashlight Dean gestured to the doors on her side of the hall, "You keep your eye out for 137 on this side. I'll check my side." He said to her. Buffy just nodded and concentrated on every number she walked past, trying to ignore the thoughts in her head. Why did she have to come with him? Why couldn't she have taken the kids out and Sam could have come with him? It wouldn't have been as awkward then. Well, it was awkward for her. It seemed like Dean really was able to forget what happened earlier that day but that was something she wouldn't be forgetting for a while.

"Buffy!" Dean called her so loudly she practically jumped out her skin. He was stood a few feet behind her beside a door, he shone the flashlight on the door to show it was room 137. "Away with the fairies were we?" he joked.

Buffy glared at him and pushed the door open. There was something behind the door so it was difficult to open but nothing she couldn't do. She pushed the door open with her hip until it swung open and hit the wall beside it. Dean entered first as he had the only flashlight, he stopped a few feet in and picked up a plaque, "Dr. Sanford Ellicott" was written on it. Buffy pushed her way through all the debris and upturned furniture and started snooping. "Jesus this place is a mess!" she stated then sneezed when she kicked papers around and dust flew everywhere.

Dean flicked through the open filing cabinet draw for a few seconds, knowing what he was looking for wouldn't be in there. Dean continued searching and found a waste paper bin beside the upturned desk, he pulled out a few scraps of paper, an old file and sighed knowing what he was looking for wasn't there either. He threw the files back in the bin and his light caught a shadow of something, there was a hole in the wall, putting his finger in the hole he opened it and the entire section came off the wall. Inside he found a leather case.

"I found something." He spoke up and pulled the case out the hole and took the case to the upturned desk.

Buffy joined his side as he opened up the case, "What is it?"

"This is why I get paid the big bucks." He replied, handing her the flashlight so he could take the papers out. A book inside caught his eye, "'Patients' Journal'" He mumbled the title of the book. Buffy held the light on the book as he flipped through. On every page there was tiny writing that filled up the entire page and some pages had horrifying pictures of ways to torture people. Both Dean and Buffy groaned in disgust, "That's horrifying." Buffy muttered.

"All work and no play makes Dr. Ellicott a very dull boy." Dean stated as he turned the page.

As they read the pages Buffy felt the same cold chill run past her again and Dean must have too as they both looked out into the hallway at the same time.

"Did you hear something?" Dean asked.

Buffy sighed, she hoped she was going crazy, "Maybe its Sam. We should show him what you found." She suggested, really though she just wanted any excuse to get out of this room.

Dean looked around for a second before nodding, "Yeah. Let's go." He put the papers and the book back inside the leather case and put it under his arm, he then took out his shotgun and turned to Buffy, "You okay with the flashlight?"

Buffy glanced at the torch in her hand, "Y-yeah I'm... good. Let's find Sam" she followed Dean out into the hallway and back the way they had come.

Buffy walked beside Dean in silence she past rooms she'd seen before, she past the room Kat got trapped in, the room she found Gavin and past the room where she shot the ghost going for Sam.

"Do you think he got them out okay?" Buffy spoke up after long minutes of them saying nothing.

"Who?"

"Sam. You think he got them out alright?"

Dean sighed, "It's Sam. If anyone could do it he could. I mean-"

Buffy cut Dean off by pulling him backwards. They both narrowly missed getting shot. As they rounded the corner while Dean spoke Buffy saw Kat stand and shoot and lucky for her Slayer reflexes she was fast enough to pull Dean back around the corner and on the floor and the shot to hit the wall instead.

"Damn it, damn it. Don't shoot, it's us!" Dean yelled.

"Fuck!" Buffy mumbled.

"Sorry! Sorry." Kat yelled and lowered the gun.

Buffy and Dean got up off the floor and walked the corner and saw both Kat and Gavin standing in a dead end.

"What are you still doin' here? Where's Sam?" Dean asked as they stopped in front of the teens.

"He went to the basement. You called him." Gavin pointed to Dean.

Dean shook his head, "I didn't call him."

Dean turned to Buffy but she shook her head, "I didn't call him either."

"His cell phone rang. He said it was you." Kat said shakily with wide eyes.

Dean thought for a moment, "Basement, huh?" spotting the duffel on the floor he took out his silver hand gun and put it inside his jacket pocket and took another flashlight before putting the duffel over her shoulder. He turned to Buffy "All right. Watch them." He then turned to Kat and glared, "And watch out for me." He said before turning around and heading for the basement.

When he finally reached the basement Dean started yelling, "Sammy? Sam, you down here?" with his flashlight he searched the basement but it was full of junk and bolted doors, "Sam? Sam!" Turning around he found Sam standing in front of him and Dean nearly jumped out of his skin, he scared him enough that he held his gun out "Man! Answer me when I'm callin' you." He said startled, "You all right?" he asked lowering his gun.

Sam stared at Dean carefully, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You know that wasn't me who called your cell, right?"

Sam nodded, "Yeah, I know. I think somethin' lured me down here."

"I think I know who –- Dr. Ellicott. That's what the spirits have been tryin' to tell us. You haven't seen him, have you?"

Sam looked shocked, "No. How do you know it was him?"

"'Cause I found his log book. Apparently, he was experimenting on his patients –- some awful stuff. It makes lobotomies look like a couple aspirin." He answered dryly.

"But it was the patients who rioted." Sam replied.

Dean nodded, "Yeah, they were rioting against Dr. Ellicott. Dr. Feelgood was workin' on some sort of, like, extreme rage therapy. He thought that if he could get his patients to vent their anger, then they'd be cured of it. Instead, it only made 'em worse and worse, and angrier and angrier. So I'm thinkin', what if his spirit is doin' the same thing? To the cop, to the kids in the seventies –- making them so angry they become homicidal." Finally Sam looked like he understood, "Come on. We gotta find his bones and torch 'em." Dean said as he walked past Sam and continuing through the basement.

Sam turned to face Dean's back, "How? The police never found his body."

Dean turned enough to look at him, "The log book said he had some sort of hidden procedure room down here somewhere, where he'd work on his patients. So if I was a patient, I'd drag his ass down here, do a little work on him myself."

Sam shrugged as Dean carried on walking, "I don't know. It sounds kind of-"

"Crazy?" Dean called back.

"Yeah." Sam nodded, watching Dean almost turn a corner but open the door beside him instead.

"Yeah, exactly." Dean said as he pulled the door open wide, held his gun out in front and entered the room. Sam followed him inside. The room was tiny barely enough space for both of them to fit.

"I told you, I looked everywhere. I didn't find a hidden room." Sam said as he entered.

Dean was stood near the center of the room scanning with his flashlight, "Well, that's why they call it hidden." They were both silent for a moment as Dean scanned the room and he could hear a whooshing noise behind him, "You hear that?"

"What?" Sam asked.

Dean continued to listen to the noise until he was sure he found where it was coming from, he crouched down on the floor and hovered his hand over the space between the wall and the floor.

"There's a door here." He stated and tried to push it open without any luck.

"Dean." Hearing his name he looked up at his brother, confused as to why he looked so angry and then he noticed the gun pointed at him. Sam's nose started to bleed and he wiped it from his face with his jacket sleeve, "Step back from the door."

Dean slowly stood up, "Sam, put the gun down."

Sam smiled, "Is that an order?"

"No, it's more of a friendly request." He smiled back.

Sam lifted the shotgun higher and pointed it at Dean's chest, "'Cause I'm gettin' pretty tired of takin' your orders." He spat.

Dean scoffed, "I knew it. Ellicott did somethin' to you, didn't he?"

Sam shuffled from foot to foot, "For once in your life, just shut your mouth." He spat again.

"What are you gonna do, Sam? The gun's filled with rock salt. Not gonna kill me." Dean stated.

Suddenly Sam fired the gun and shot Dean in the chest, sending him crashing through the wall behind him.

"No. But it'll hurt like hell." Sam replied with a small smile on his lips.

Buffy paced back and forth nervously, both Kat and Gavin watching her uneasily. "Why are they taking so long, this shouldn't be taking so long?" Buffy asked, more to herself than for them to answer.

Kat, who was sat on the floor still with the shotgun in her hand, spoke reassuringly, "Maybe they are killing the ghost right now"

Gavin scoffed and slid down the wall to sit beside her, "Yeah or a ghost got Sam and it's killed him and is now killing Dean as we speak."

Buffy spun around and stared at Gavin, "What did you just say?"

"He-he was just joking. Right Gavin?" Kat asked.

The look on Buffy's face said it all, "Yeah... sure... I was just joking. Sorry."

Buffy started pacing again, "What if your right? What if Dr. Ellicott got to Sam and was now trying to get Dean?"

"Who's Dr. Ellicott?" Gavin asked.

Buffy turned around to face them again, she looked down at Kat, "Do you have any bullets left?"

Kat nodded, "Yeah why?"

"'Cause I'm going to the basement to look for them." She said, handing them the flashlight and pulling the gun out of her inside jacket pocket, she filled up the empty round and loaded it ready. "You guys stay here." They barely had time to nod before Buffy ran down the hallway and tried to find the basement. The shot fired turned Buffy in the right direction and in no time she found the basement and she could hear Sam talking in one of the rooms.

"...I mean, why are we even here? Because you're following Dad's order's like a good little soldier? 'Cause you always do what he says without question? Are you that desperate for his approval?" he yelled. Buffy entered the room, Sam's back was to her and Dean was on the floor in the other room, she hid behind the open door until the right moment revealed itself.

"This isn't you talking, Sam." Dean said through coughs.

"That's the difference between you and me." Sam held the gun up to point to his head, "I have a mind of my own." He pointed the gun back down at his brother, "I'm not pathetic like you."

"So what are you gonna do, huh? You gonna kill me?" he asked tiredly.

"You know what? I am sick of doing what you tell me to do. We're no closer to finding Dad today than we were six months ago." Sam replied.

"Well, then, here. Let me make it easier for you." Buffy watched Dean take the pistol out of his jacket pocket and hand it to Sam, "Go on. Take it. Real bullets are gonna work a hell of a lot better than rock salt. Take it!" Sam grabbed the pistol and dropped the shotgun. He pointed the gun directly at Dean, Buffy's legs started to twitch, ready to pounce.

"You hate me that much? You think you could kill your own brother? Then go ahead. Pull the trigger." Dean said.

Buffy came out behind the door, gun up pointed at Sam, "Do it!" Dean yelled and Sam pulled the trigger, Buffy was just about to shoot Sam herself but was able to stop when she realised no bullets were coming from the pistol.

Sam repeatedly pulled the trigger but nothing happened, while he was distracted Dean grabbed his wrist and pulled him closer then punched him hard enough in the face that Sam reeled backwards. Far enough away for Dean to stand. He walked over to Sam, who was trying to get up himself, "Man, I'm not gonna give you a loaded pistol." He stated then punched Sam again and this time Sam didn't try to get back up. He patted Sam as he stood back up, "Sorry, Sammy." He whispered.

Buffy stayed where she was, she let Dean search the room on his own while she kept her eye on Sam. Sam didn't move for a few good minutes, Buffy saw Dean found the body of Dr. Ellicott, judging by the gagging noises he made anyway. While he covered the body in salt Buffy saw Sam start to wake and try to get up. When he got to his knees Buffy held the gun at his head, "Oh no you don't stay exactly where you are." She spoke quietly so Dean couldn't hear so he wouldn't get distracted from salting and burning the body. Sam turned slightly and smiled when he saw Buffy standing behind him.

"So you think you can take on anything now you can shoot?" Sam asked.

"Actually I could take on anything before I knew how to shoot at least this way my hands won't get dirty as much." She stated with a little hint of amusement in her voice.

Sam just continued to smile at her. The pause of silence was enough for Buffy to catch a glimpse of Dean being sent across the room.

"You know one thing Dean forgot to teach you was not to hold your gun so close to the person without them wearing handcuffs." Sam talking distracted Buffy away from what was happening to Dean.

When she looked down at Sam his smile was bigger, "It makes it easy for them to do this!" Sam slapped Buffy's hands sideways with such force that the gun fell from her hand and she was so stunned that she didn't have time to protect herself when he spun his leg out and knocked her onto the floor. She saw Sam scramble to get one of the shotguns and she flipped back onto her feet as Sam held a shotgun up pointing to Dean – who was being chocked/electrocuted by Dr. Ellicott at that moment – and without hesitation Buffy ran and tackled him to the floor just before he fired the gun and the salt rounds hit the ceiling. Buffy got in a few punches on Sam before his height and weight got the better of hers and he was able to roll her over so he was the one on top, he got in a few punches on her before picking up the shotgun beside her and placing it directly on her forehead. The look on Sam's face as he was about to pull the trigger caused Buffy's heart to sink, the look on his face really was like he didn't care about her and would kill her without a second thought. She closed her eyes as she braced for the salt rounds to enter her skull but instead her ears were filled with a gut wrenching scream and her nose was filled with the smell of burning flesh. When she screaming stopped Buffy opened her eyes and she saw the look of horror on Sam's face, he still had the gun to her head but as soon as she looked at him he let it go and he scrambled off her and sat with his back to the edge of the wall they knocked down.

Dean got up off the floor and when he saw Buffy laying in the room opposite he helped her up and he looked at Sam, "You're not gonna try to kill us, are you?"

Sam could barely look at either of them, "No" he said quietly.

Dean nodded once, "Good... Because that would be awkward." He said a little relieved.

Buffy rubbed her jaw and then moved her elbow to find that it was mostly okay now, her scuffle with Sam seemed to pop it back into place, just the pain from it popping out and in again was all she had left.

"Maybe we should get the hell outta here" She spoke up.

Both Sam and Dean nodded, "I couldn't think of anything better to do right now." Dean stated and picked up his duffel.

Buffy picked up her shotgun and put it inside the bag, Sam did the same with the shotgun and pistol beside him and they all headed back up to Kat and Gavin.

When they finally got outside the sun was out. It didn't seem like they'd spent all night in there. Though when you are trying to get killed by psycho patients and their doctor time really does fly by. They all jumped the fence and out onto the parking lot, Gavin and Kat's car was parked a few feet away from the Impala.

"Thanks, guys." Kat said with a smile.

Gavin nodded, "Yeah, thanks." He smiled also.

"No more haunted asylums, okay?" Dean asked seriously. Both Gavin and Kat nodded sheepishly and headed to their car.

Dean turned around and headed to the car. Buffy took the duffel from Dean and headed to the trunk.

"Hey, Dean. I'm sorry, man. I said some awful things back there." Sam said to him then looked at Buffy, "to both of you. I'm sorry." Buffy just nodded and popped the trunk and threw in the duffel.

"You remember all that?" Dean asked surprised.

Sam nodded lightly, "Yeah. It's like I couldn't control it. But I didn't mean it –- any of it."

Dean looked unconvinced, "You didn't, huh?"

"No, of course not." Sam replied, when Dean shrugged it off he spoke again, "Do we need to talk about this?"

"No. I'm not really in the sharing, caring kind of mood. I just wanna get some sleep." He stated and got inside the car.

Both Buffy and Sam walked to their side of the car and Buffy placed a hand on his arm to get his attention, "If it helps, you're not the only one he's pissed at." She said.

Sam looked at her confused, "Why would he be pissed at you?"

Buffy started to blush and opened the car door, "Long story..." she muttered as she got inside. This was going to be a long drive back to the motel.

* * *

Okay that is my version of "Asylum" let me know what you guys think!

Also im torn to do the next episode "Scarecrow" purely for Sam leaving meaning Buffy and Dean alone time or to skip that one and do "Faith" where Buffy reunites with an old enemy...


	8. Scarecrow

Okay I decided to do Scarecrow because I wanted some Dean/Buffy alone time and hopefully I did it well for you guys.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Eric Kripke owns Supernatural and it's scripts and Joss Wheedon owns Buffy. This was made for fun.

I used the TwizTv script for Supernatural Season 1, Episode 11 "Scarecrow"

* * *

Buffy was right in that part of sleep where you're surrounded by serenity and you're just fading into the darkness of a deep sleep and total relaxation... then what felt like seconds later was the persistent blaring rock music coming from Dean's cell phone and then Sam's booming voice for his brother to answer the phone filled Buffy's ears, as she was asleep beside Sam (Buffy now found it best to sleep beside Sam as she didn't feel the need to ravish him as she did when she slept beside Dean) by the sounds of it though Dean wasn't waking up. Reluctantly Sam reached his arm on the bedside table and felt around for the cell phone. Finally Sam found the phone, and the heavy guitar sounds getting closer and closer to Buffy it was getting harder for her to fall back to sleep, he checked the number but it wasn't one he recognised, "Hello?" he greeted sleepily on the phone.

Seconds later Sam shot upright in bed, "Dad? Are you hurt?" he asked manically, Buffy turned around and saw Sam was sat upright, his fingers running though his hair and almost relief on his face.

"We've been looking for you everywhere. We didn't know where you were, if you were okay." Sam spoke again a few seconds later, this time he didn't sound so panicked but he still sounded shocked.

There was a moment of silence in the room then Sam glanced over at Dean's waking form on the other bed, "We're fine. Dad, where are you?" Sam asked. A frown appeared on his forehead, "What? Why not?"

Dean sat up in his bed and rubbed at his eyes, "Is that Dad?"

When Sam didn't reply he looked at Buffy and she nodded that he was talking to their dad. Sam sat straighter and he glared, "You're after it, aren't you? The thing that killed Mom."

Buffy looked at Dean and she saw the urgency to talk to his father on his face.

"Demon? You know for sure?" Sam asked his father.

Dean shook his head, "A demon? What's he saying?"

Sam ignored him, "You know where it is?" he asked down the phone.

Suddenly Sam turned and planted his feet on the floor but was still sat on the bed, "Let us help."

Sam sighed after a minute, "Why not?"

Dean held out his hand to his brother, "Give me the phone."

Sam glanced at Dean and held a hand out in a 'stop' motion and he frowned at the voice on the other end, "Names? What names, Dad—talk to me, tell me what's going on." He asked almost sadly.

His father seemed to say something down the line that Sam didn't agree with cause he seemed to get redder and redder and he shook his head, "No, all right? No way."

"Give me the phone," Dean leant over and snatched the phone out of Sam's hand and put it to his ear, "Dad, it's me. Where are you?" when the voice on the other end spoke Dean sat straighter and seemed more alert, like a general was talking to his troops, " …Yes, sir.…" Dean then looked around himself and picked up the pad and paper that were lying on the table, "Uh, yeah, I got a pen. What are their names?" he scribbled down a list of names his father rallied down the phone then nodded a couple of times with the usual "mhmm" and "yes" then he said goodbye and hung up. Dean looked at the list for a second before looking at a pissed off Sam and a sleepy Buffy, "Get your stuff."

Twenty minutes later Sam was driving on the highway; Dean still didn't really explain everything his dad said to him, he just kept telling them that he'd explained in the car. After twenty minutes of him saying nothing, just flipping through pages he printed off the internet, Sam gave in first,

"Alright, so, the names Dad gave us, they're all couples?" he asked as he switched gears to turn.

Dean nodded, "Three different couples. All went missing."

"And they're all from different towns? Different states?" Buffy asked from the back seat.

Dean nodded, "That's right." He picked up the list from the dashboard and held it up for Buffy to see, beside every couple had a town or city they were from, "You got Washington, New York, Colorado. Each couple took a road trip cross-country. None of them arrived at their destination, and none of them were ever heard from again." He finished and put the paper back on the dashboard.

"Well, it's a big country, Dean. They could've disappeared anywhere." Sam sighed.

Dean nodded then flipped through pages he was holding, "Yeah could've. But each one's route took 'em to the same part of Indiana. Always on the second week of April. One year after another after another." Dean explained.

Buffy counted with her fingers, "This is the second week of April." She stated.

"Yep."

Sam sighed, "So, Dad is sending us to Indiana to go hunting for something before another couple vanishes?"

Dean pointed at his brother, "Yahtzee. Can you imagine putting together a pattern like this? All the different obits Dad had to go through? The man's a master."

Buffy saw Sam's annoyed look through the mirror but she was a little surprised when he pulled them over to the side of the road and stopped the car.

"What are you doing?" Dean asked a little annoyed and a little shocked.

"We're not going to Indiana." Sam said flatly.

Dean blinked a couple of times, "We're not?"

The younger brother shook his head, "No. We're going to California. Dad called from a payphone, Sacramento area code."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Sam-"

"Dean, if this demon killed Mom and Jess, and Dad's closing in, we've gotta be there. We've gotta help." Sam spat out before Dean could argue.

After a small pause Dean said softly, "Dad doesn't want our help."

Sam's face hardened, "I don't care."

Dean turned slightly in his seat and glowered, "He's given us an order."

"I don't care. We don't always have to do what he says." Sam spoke firmly.

"Sam, Dad is asking us to work jobs, to save lives, it's important." Dean retorted back.

Sam sighed and his voice softened slightly. "Alright, I understand, believe me, I understand. But I'm talking one week here, man, to get answers. To get revenge."

Dean held up a hand, "Alright, look, I know how you feel-"

Sam frowned at him, "Do you?" at the shocked look on Dean's face Sam carried on, "How old were you when Mom died? Four? Jess died six months ago. How the hell would you know how I feel?" He spat, his voice full of anger and sorrow and pain.

Dean's face softened, "Dad said it wasn't safe. For any of us. I mean, he obviously knows something that we don't, so if he says to stay away, we stay away."

Buffy sat up in her seat, she hated it when they argued, and they always seemed to forget that she was here with them, "Urm, guys?"

Sam shut his eyes and shook his head, "I don't understand the blind faith you have in the man. I mean, it's like you don't even question him."

"Yeah, it's called being a good son!" Dean exploded.

Dean and Sam stared at each other for a second before Sam got out of the car, leaving the door open and Dean followed. Buffy got out purely to see what was happening. Sam had the trunk open and was pulling out a backpack and throwing them over his shoulder.

Dean headed for the back of the car, all the pent up rage was now all over his face clear as day, "You're a selfish bastard, you know that? You just do whatever you want. Don't care what anybody thinks."

Dean watched as Sam took his laptop out of the car.

Sam slammed the trunk shut and looked down at his brother, "That's what you really think?"

"Yes, it is."

Sam flung his backpack over his shoulder, "Well, then this selfish bastard is going to California." He said and turned around and walked away.

Buffy walked and stopped when she was beside Dean, "Sam? Where are you going? It's still pitch black out here!" Buffy yelled but he just continued to walk, she turned to Dean, "You can't let him go."

"Come on, you're not serious." Dean called to his brother, ignoring Buffy once again while the boys had their drama.

"I am serious." He called back.

"It's the middle of the night! Hey, I'm taking off, we will leave your ass, you hear me?" Dean yelled.

Sam finally stopped and turned around and he gave Dean a small smile, "That's what I want you to do." He yelled back.

Buffy watched the pair stare each other out for a few minutes until Dean sighed. "No. You can't let him go." She cried at him then jogged up to Sam, "Sam, you can't leave."

He looked down at her and smiled, "I have to, I'm sorry." He pulled her into a hug and Buffy wrapped her arms around him tightly, "Look after him." He whispered in her ear.

Buffy nodded and sniffed back tears, "I promise." She whispered back before letting go.

"Goodbye, Sam." Dean said angrily as he slammed the trunk shut, "Buffy, get in the car." He yelled as he turned and got inside.

Buffy looked at Sam once more and took one of his hands and squeezed it, "I'm gonna miss you." She said with a little laugh.

Sam laughed too, "Me too. Promise me something else?"

"What?"

Sam smiled, "Don't kill him if he pisses you off."

Buffy laughed, "I'll try but I'm not promising."

They both laughed for a second but were interrupted by the horn of the Impala. Buffy said goodbye to Sam one last time before jogging back to the car and getting in the passenger seat and no sooner had she shut the door did Dean sped off and Buffy watched Sam get smaller and smaller in the distance.

When she couldn't see him anymore she turned around and watched Dean driving calmly, like leaving his brother in the middle of nowhere didn't affect him at all. Dean could see her staring at him angrily, she'd never looked scarier.

Dean sighed, "What?"

That's all it took, one word from Dean and Buffy exploded, "I can't believe you left him there! At the side of a road in the middle of nowhere!" she yelled.

"He wanted me to!" Dean tried to explain calmly, though he too was yelling.

"No he didn't don't be so naive! He wanted to go and find your dad yeah but he wanted to do it with you! Not going off alone in the middle of the night! I mean... What if something happens to him?"

Dean choked back a laugh, "Please, he's a big boy he can take care of himself. Awww you gonna miss your BFF?"

Buffy tutted and turned to face the front of the car, subconsciously putting her feet up on the seat and wrapping her arms around her knees, "Oh shut up." She grumbled.

Dean glanced at her long enough to see her feet on the seat and gently slapped her thigh; realising what she'd done she sighed and put her feet down, she crossed her arms and leant her head back on the headrest of her seat and watched the darkness whirl by beside her.

"Why are you getting so upset over him going? You don't..." Dean didn't finish the sentence; instead he sighed and shook his head.

Buffy turned her head and glared at him, "What?"

"Nothing." He grunted.

Buffy rolled her eyes, "If you have something to say just say it!"

Dean looked almost ready to stop the car and chuck her out, he pursed his lips and took in deep breaths through his nose and he refused to look at her for a second. After a moment he seemed to relax then he just shrugged and gave her his usual cheeky smile, "I dunno, just... You don't like have the hot's for Sam do you? Because that's just gross if you do." He teased.

Buffy choked back a laugh and looked back out the window, "Please, Sam is like… He's my boy Willow." She said the last art quietly.

"He's your what?" Dean asked a little confused.

Buffy sighed, "Willow. She… She is – _was_ – my best friend."

After a quiet moment Dean cleared his throat, "Is she one of the ones from Sunnydale?" he asked quietly.

Buffy nodded and turned to look at Dean with a smile, "Yeah, her and Sam are pretty similar actually. Always did the research, much better at the Latin when it came to spells."

Dean nodded and laughed a little, "They sound like soul mates."

Buffy laughed, "She's a lesbian"

Dean gave Buffy a beaming smile, "Really? I like the sound of this girl." He chuckled.

Buffy shook her head and leant to turn on the radio, "Okay perv that's enough of this conversation." She said as she turned the volume up on the radio so Dean couldn't tell her all the pervy things going on inside his mind right then.

They finally arrived in Burkitsville a few hours later, neither of them mentioned Sam the rest of the way; they either drove in silence or spoke a few monotonous sentences about weather or the song on the radio. They stopped at the nearest motel; luckily this one was close right next to a diner so Buffy went to order them food while Dean checked them in and put their bags inside. Dean squeezed into the booth just as the waitress was bringing over his burger and Buffy's salad.

"Ah you know me so well" Dean said happily as he opened his burger bun and covered it in ketchup.

Buffy chewed on her salad, "Well I just knew to order the greasiest one on the menu." She said through a mouthful of lettuce. Taking a sip of her water she cleared her throat, "So now we're here do you have a plan?" she asked as he pierced more lettuce and put it in her mouth.

Because Buffy asked as he was taking a giant mouthful of burger it took him a few minutes to chew and swallow, he then had to down half his coke before answering, "I thought we'd just ask around a few of the locals." He shrugged as he picked up a few fries and stuffed them in his mouth.

Buffy put down her fork and looked at Dean with raised eyebrows, "Seriously? We're just going to go up to people and go "Excuse me have you seen these people, they were last seen going through here and we think you killed them all"?" she asked sarcastically.

Dean rolled his eyes at her and swallowed the bit of burger he was eating, "Not quite like that Buff but pretty close" he said with a little smile and then they both continued to eat in their comfortable silence they've both developed.

When they finished eating they headed further into town, Dean pulled over outside a café and he unconsciously pulled out his cell phone and scrolled until he found his brother's name. Buffy watched as his finger loomed over the call button. "It's okay to call him you know." Buffy spoke softly but Dean still jumped slightly but cleared his throat and put his cell phone back inside his pocket and got out the car.

Buffy let out a puff of air, "Forget I mentioned it." She said to herself and got out the car and followed Dean towards the café opposite.

There was a man sitting in a chair on the porch of the café and he looked at them like he didn't like visitors in his town as Buffy and Dean made their way up the steps.

Dean pointed to the sign that said "Scotty's Café", "Let me guess, you're Scotty?" he asked a little amused.

The man nodded, "Yep."

Dean smiled politely, "Hi," he pointed at Buffy, "This is my wife Jenny and my name's John Bonham." Buffy gave Dean a look when he said she was his wife, she also scoffed at the name Jenny.

Scotty narrowed his eyes at Dean, "Isn't that the drummer for Led Zeppelin?"

Dean looked at Scotty with wide eyes, pretty taken aback by the comment, "Wow. Good. Classic rock fan." He laughed a little.

"What can I do for you, John?" Scotty asked hastily and shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

Dean looked to Buffy and she pulled out two flyers of the latest missing couple from her back pocket and handed them to Scotty.

"We were wondering if, uh, you'd seen these people by chance." Buffy asked as Scotty took the flyers from her and examined them.

Scotty shook his head, "Nope. Who are they?" he asked.

Dean looked at Buffy and he pulled her close to him and put his arm around her shoulders, "Friends of ours." He said sadly, trying to look convincing that they were actually his friends. "They went missing about a year ago. They passed through somewhere around here, and I've already asked around Scottsburg and Salem-"

"Sorry." Scotty cut Dean off and handed back the flyers, "We don't get many strangers around here." Buffy nodded as she took the flyers back, shaking Dean off her shoulders in the process – she didn't think she'd be able to hand another thing like that again.

Dean looked at the serious expression on Scotty's face and smiled, "Scotty, you've got a smile that lights up a room, anybody ever tell you that?" he asked, Scotty just stared at him strangely which made Dean chuckle, "Never mind. See you around. Come on Sweetheart." He said as he walked down the steps. Buffy gave Dean a strange look before smiling at Scotty, "Thank You for your time." She said before following Dean back to the car.

When she got inside the car she turned to Dean, "What the hell was that back there?"

Dean glanced at her as he started up the Impala, "What was what back where?" he asked a little confused.

Buffy puffed up her chest and did her best impression of him "Hi this is my _wife _Jenny! Yeah, yeah they were our friends. Come on _sweetheart_!" She saw Dean smiling "Seriously?"

Dean laughed and just shrugged, "What I had to make up a story. Being my wife was my first thought."

Buffy blinked a couple of times then leant back in the chair, "Well next time warn me if you're going to do that."

Dean was still laughing, "I'm sorry next time I won't make you my wife. I'll make you my prudish sister next time."

Buffy stared at him in shock and slapped him on the arm, "Hey!" she laughed. They were both laughing as Dean drove off and into town.

They drove all over Burkitsville and it was almost dark when they'd spoken to everyone. They had no leads. Everyone was claiming that they had never seen the couple come through. Buffy was starting to get a headache from all the driving, the stress of getting nowhere and tiredness. Dean parked up at a gas station, "I'll just ask the people here and get some gas and then we can head back to the motel." He said to Buffy who had her eyes shut and leant her head on the cool window to which she just nodded and listened to Dean getting out the car. Buffy could hear the gravel crunching beneath Dean's feet as he walked away from the car, then it turned into quiet – just the squeak of the leather as she shifted comfortably in her seat. Her mind went blank, her thoughts shut off and she fell into a peaceful dreamless sleep, one she hadn't had in months. What felt like seconds later the creak of the Impala door woke her to see Dean moving her feet off his seat and sliding inside. He smiled at her, "I got a lead."

Buffy sat upright, "Thank God. Well?"

Dean let out a breath and looked out the window towards the gas station, "They were weird. They're hiding… something. They pretended not to know them but then the girl, their niece I think, recognised them and they changed their tune. They pointed me in the direction they left. I say we follow." He explained.

Buffy groaned and tilted her face to the roof of the car, "Dean, you promised we'd go back to the motel. I'm tired; we haven't slept in over a day."

Dean lifted Buffy's head so she would look at him, "Hey, hey. Look I'm saying we just take a drive over to the interstate and if we don't see anything I'll take us straight back to the motel and we can look again tomorrow okay?"

Buffy looked straight at Dean and slowly nodded her head, "Fine. Better be quick or I'm gonna kick your ass." She retorted.

Dean let her go and started the car with a small laugh and drove out of the gas station and towards the interstate.

They spoke as they drove and searched the stretch of Interstate road, mainly to keep Buffy awake. It was mostly Dean doing the talking, telling Buffy about his favourite bands and pranks he used to pull on Sam when they were kids, occasionally Buffy would talk about Sunnydale but she never went into much detail, like the fact that she dated a vampire or her nest friends ex was a werewolf. It was Dean rambling when Buffy could hear a noise, a strange whirring noise.

"Dean shut up. What's that noise?" she said holding a finger up to signal him to be quiet.

Dean stopped talking and listened, the high pitched whirring was getting louder and faster, "What the hell?" He frowned and pulled the car over.

Once he stopped the car he leant over into the back seat of the car and rummaged into the duffel on the seat, he pulled out an EMF meter from the duffel and it was whirring frantically and all the lights were shining all the way into the red zone.

Buffy looked up at Dean, "What does that mean?"

Dean looked out of his window and over to the orchard, "I'm thinking there's something spooky in that orchard."

Buffy snorted when Dean opened his door and got out, "What like a haunted scarecrow?" she joked as she got out also and followed him into the orchard. When she caught up with him Dean was stood looking at a creepy scarecrow sat on a post with its two arms outstretched at the sides like a cross.

Dean climbed up the ladder at the side of the scarecrows post and stopped when he was eye level to the scarecrow, "Dude, you fugly" he said with a grimace.

Buffy slowly made her way closer to the scarecrow; her "spider sense" growing more and more, the need to fight was building so she knew it was something to do with the scarecrow.

"A haunted scarecrow?" she asked a little in disbelief. She didn't really want to believe that her joke may be true.

Dean stared at the scarecrow but it didn't move: it wasn't giving any indication that it was in fact alive, only when Dean started examining the scarecrow was when he noticed the sickle in its hand and had a design on its arm.

"Hey Buff, hand me those missing couples flyers." He said holding his hand out for it without looking at her.

Buffy pulled out the folded flyers from her pocket and put them in Dean's hand, "What is it?" she called up the ladder.

Dean opened the flyers and held up the flyer of the missing boyfriend, he moved the clothing away from the scarecrows arm to get a better look at the design and then looked at the flyer; both the scarecrow and the boyfriend had the same tribal tattoo on the same arm. Dean looked back at the scarecrow, "Nice tatt." He said seriously then waited for some kind of reaction.

Nothing.

Dean made his way back down the ladder and stood beside Buffy with an annoyed expression on his face, Buffy shrugged at him and wrapped her thin denim jacket tighter, now the sun was fading it was starting to get very cold. "Now what?"

Dean sighed and looked back at the scarecrow then over in the direction of the Impala, "We got some more questions to ask."

Buffy groaned, "Well can it wait till morning? I'm sick of sitting in that car and I need a shower. Can we find some place to crash?" she begged. Sometimes Dean needed reminding that he was only human and needed to sleep and eat otherwise he'd keel over from taking on too much in one day.

Dean thought for a moment then gave her a small smile, "Sure. Come on." He started walking back towards the car and Buffy hastily tried to keep up with her small legs.

They checked into a motel that was just outside Burkitsville, the first one they drove past, Buffy didn't want to wait any longer. Buffy got out and followed Dean to the motel reception.

The warmth from the reception hit Buffy straight in the face when Dean opened the door, her hands suddenly were sore from the cold outside and she blew warm air onto her hands to heat the pain away.

Dean rang the little bell on the desk and waited for a response. He turned around to see Buffy warming her hands up, "You cold?"

Buffy looked up at him, "What gave it away? The chattering teeth or me warming my hands up?" she joked as she put her hands at her side and moved so she was stood beside him and leant on the reception desk.

Dean smiled, "Not used to the cold weather are you?"

Buffy glared at him, "I'm from California, what do you expect" she said defensively. Dean just laughed and rang the bell again.

A woman came out of a door behind the counter, she was at least mid-fifties but looked good for her age, Buffy saw Dean even eyeing her up as the woman came over with a welcoming smile.

"Are you here for a room?" the woman asked in a mousey voice that mirrored her plain hair and average clothes.

Dean smiled and pulled a credit card from his wallet, "Yeah we'd like a room for a couple of nights thanks." He said sweetly and handed over his card.

The woman looked at Dean then at Buffy and smiled and took his card, "No problem Mr… Beufort. One room. Two nights." She said as she typed into the computer then swiped the credit card into a machine and handed it back over, she also gave him a paper to sign.

"If you'd just sign there…" she pointed to where he was meant to sign and picked a key from the key rack, judging by the lack of keys it seemed like this place got a lot of visitors, she handed the key to Buffy with a smile, "and there is your key. Have a nice stay." she said to the pair of them, took the paper back from Dean then headed back through the door she came out from.

Buffy handed the key to Dean with a raised eyebrow, "She was… freaky"

Dean laughed at her comment and headed back to the car to grab a couple of bags. Buffy took a couple of her own bags and locked the car behind her and followed him inside.

Dean was stood right inside with his bags on the floor, "Crap."

Buffy sighed, "Don't tell me you want anything from the car cause I already locked it" she said as she came up behind and entered the room. She dropped her bags when she saw the one queen sized bed in the middle of the room.

"What is this?" Buffy demanded, turning to him with her hands on her hips.

Dean shut the door behind them, "Twin room. One _twin _room. I never have this problem when I'm with Sam!" He muttered to himself.

"Dean I am not sharing a bed with you. Go and get our room changed." Buffy growled and folded her arms.

Dean sighed and opened the door just before the old woman from reception was about to knock, her hands full of fresh towels and other bits and bobs.

"Oh sorry, am I disturbing you?" the woman asked a little startled.

Dean smiled, "Oh… No I was-"

The woman cut him off but thrusting the towels and other bits at him, it having a peek inside it seemed like a bag full of toiletries and some packaged sandwiches. "Here. You both look absolutely worn out. A newlywed couple like you should take it easy." The woman explained and gave Dean a little wink.

Buffy started to protest, "Oh no it's not like-"

Dean smiled and thrust the towels and other stuff into Buffy's hands, "Well that's very kind of you. It's true we are very tired. Thank you for the hospitality." He bowed his head in thanks and winked at Buffy when he saw her looking on at him wide eyed and puzzled.

"So you are newlyweds!"

Dean smiled broadly and put an arm around Buffy, "Yes we are. Only a few weeks. My sweetheart here wanted to road trip around America for our honeymoon and so here we are." He laughed at the end and pulled Buffy close and gave her a small kiss on her forehead. Buffy wouldn't lie and say her heart didn't skip a beat when he kissed her head, she'd tried to forget how soft his lips were and so kissing her – even if it was just on the forehead – didn't help the matter. Buffy saw the owner going all doe eyed at the pair and Buffy smiled and played her part, she dropped the towels and stuff on the bed beside her and wrapped her arms around Dean's waist – feeling him tense up – and spoke, "Well it's something we've both wanted to do for a long time." She said and let him go and shrugged him off and headed towards the woman and whispered quietly, "You know we've been driving for hours and we haven't really relaxed in a while, we haven't even had the honeymoon night yet so could you…" Buffy trailed off thinking her request was obvious.

The woman looked at her wide eyed, "Oh of course! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to intrude. You two have a good night." She said and winked at the pair as she left and shut the door behind her.

When she was gone Buffy sighed and leant her head against the door.

"What the hell was that?" Dean asked.

Buffy slowly turned around and leant her back on the door, "What was what?"

Dean waved his hand at her, "That… thing you did… with the hugging and smiling and whispering?" he said uncomfortably.

Buffy stood up straight, "I'm sorry, did I take you by surprise? At least you knew we were married! I was just playing my part" she shrugged and pushed herself off the door and picked up a couple of bags and put them on the bed to start unpacking.

Dean slowly turned around and watched her, "What are you doing?"

Buffy pulled a shirt out of the duffel and took a hanger out of the wardrobe, "Well it's not like we can go and ask for a new room with two beds now after that show so looks like we're stuck in here." She explained hanging up the shirt in the wardrobe and going back to the duffel and pulling out a few pairs of jeans and folding them and piling them neatly and putting them in the wardrobe.

Dean sighed and took off his jacked, hanging it on the back of one of the two dining chairs, he grabbed two glasses from the kitchen cabinet and pulled his flask out of his jacket pocket and filled the two glasses halfway. He watched Buffy neatly putting away her clothes – which was over two duffel bags and almost a whole wardrobe full – then grab the duffel that he knew held her shoes and pictures. He handed her a glass of whiskey when she was looking at a picture, he saw it was a picture of her and what must have been two of her friends sitting in a garden all smiling happily, it looked like it was taken a few years ago, Buffy looked about sixteen in the picture.

Buffy jumped slightly when she saw the glass in her eye line, she looked at Dean who just held it out to her, and with her free hand she slowly took the glass, "Thanks"

Dean shrugged and sat on the edge of the bed, "You look like you could use it." He said as he took a mouthful of his drink. He watched her put the picture on the nightstand and gingerly take a sip. "Those you're friends?" he asked quietly.

Buffy nodded, "Yeah… That's Willow and that's Xander." She said sadly. She missed them so much it was almost unbearable, they both knew Buffy so we'll sometimes she didn't even have to tell them what was up they just knew by a look in her eye. She took another sip of the whiskey and made a face and a funny noise escaped her mouth.

She saw Dean laughing at her and she sighed, "I don't drink this stuff okay"

"Do you drink at all?" he asked, "I mean, have you even had a drunken night since you came back to life, or you know ever?" he asked in more detail.

Buffy sat beside him and took another drink and made another face, "Well when you're the only protector in Sunnydale – which got attacked all the time – you don't have time to get drunk, I might be a Slayer but even I wouldn't be able to function with a hangover." She said.

Dean thought for a moment then downed his drink and stood up, "Come on." He said as he went to put his jacket back on.

Buffy stood up and turned to face him, "What?"

Dean moved to the wardrobe and took out her red leather jacket, his favourite of her jackets – and it went well with her tight dark blue jeans and her black tank top – and handed it to her. "We're going to the closest bar around and we're gonna get drunk." He stated.

Buffy took the jacket but just looked at him, "What about the scarecrow?"

Dean shrugged, "Well there's nothing more we can do till tomorrow and I could use a beer and you need to get that stick out your ass and have a good time." He said as he headed for the door, "Come on." He said as he went outside.

Buffy was still for another second before shaking it off, downing her drink and putting her jacket on and following him outside – making sure she had her key as she left.

The nearest bar seemed to only be a few minutes away, a good thing about motels was they were always close to bars and diners – hence why Dean always stayed in a motel. The bar might not be The Bronze like Buffy was used to, for one thing it was only one level and two it only had a jukebox whereas The Bronze had multiple levels and always had a live band playing. Another thing she missed.

"Grab a seat I'll get us some drinks" Dean spoke loud in her ear over the thumping music.

Buffy grabbed a small table close to the bar and struggled to get on the high stools but got there eventually, as she took of her jacket she saw a very drunk and very tattooed man approaching her table.

"Hey there lil'lady" the drunkard said and Buffy grimaced, he smelled like tequila and vomit. "What's a purdy lady like you doin' here alone? It's not safe." He said with a grin.

Buffy grimaced again and looked up at him, "I'm here with someone, he's at the bar right now."

The drunkard almost fell on her table and he hiccupped a few times, "Still not safe on yer own."

"She's not on her own." Dean said coming back with a try with about four beers and loads of shots. He put the tray down and looked at the drunkard harassing Buffy, "Now beat it. Go grab another tequila." He said with a grimace when he could smell the man.

The drunkard looked at both Buffy and Dean then shook his head and walked away.

"You okay?" Dean asked as he handed her a beer.

Buffy nodded and took a swig of the beer, "Thanks and yeah I'm fine. Glad you showed when you did otherwise I may have had to kick his ass." She laughed and drank again.

"Well that would have been something I would have loved to see." He smiled and held up his drink and Buffy did the same in a "cheers" gesture before them both taking long drinks.

"Have you heard from Sam?" Buffy asked to make conversation.

Dean shook his head, "Nah, I doubt I will either." He replied and drank more of his beer.

Buffy put her drink down, "I know you miss him, why don't you call him?"

Dean shook his head, "Don't talk to me about Sam, now just keep drinking."

Buffy nodded and downed her beer almost an entire bottle, she saw the shock on Deans face and she laughed, "So what do you do in these bars other than drink?" she said as she took a shot, it wasn't till she drank it that she realised it was tequila.

Dean smiled, "Can you play pool?" he laughed as he also downed his beer and followed Buffy's suit in downing the shots.

A few hours and a few more shots and beers later Buffy found herself arm wrestling with most the guys in the bar. Her and Dean did start off playing Pool and coning people out of their money but they soon found out that Buffy could not play pool as well as Sam and so Buffy thought the best and easiest way to make some cash was to arm wrestle with some of the bar patrons. It was easy cash flow seen as none of these guys were as strong as Buffy. They'd easily made a few hundred just on the fact that a few of the guys couldn't handle the fact that a tiny blonde could beat them and so they kept trying. People eventually gave up nobody wanted to play anymore but they didn't care, Dean was over the moon.

He waved the cash in her face with a giant smile, "You are incredible!" he said and fanned the money out so she could see how much was there, "We made over three hundred at least just on you kicking ass!" he said in awe and put half the money in his wallet and handed half to her. "Here's your cut."

Buffy looked at him wide eyed and a little woozy, the drink was finally starting to hit her, still she was more sober than Dean but her brain was just starting to numb, "What for?" she asked as she took the money.

Dean took a beer off their table full of beers and more shots, "Hey you earned that cash. Screw Sam I'm bringing you out to hustle, easiest three hundred I've made in barely two hours." He chuckled and drank more beer.

Buffy put the money in her jeans pocket and raised a brow, "Come to think of it, you're the only one who hasn't challenged me."

Dean shook his head, "No way, been there done that, I know how strong you are." He refused and drank the remnants of the bottle in his hand.

Buffy started to remove all the empty bottles from their table with cleared it slightly and she pouted a little, "Oh come on. You're not going to back out now. Chicken?" she teased.

Dean grinned, "Oh I'm a chicken now am I?" he asked as he rolled up a sleeve in accepting the challenge.

Buffy took his hand and she instantly felt his pushing her down, now Buffy wasn't even trying to keep her hand where it was, she was very strong, and she wasn't even using half of it. She could see the strain on Dean's face as he desperately tried to get her hand down. After a few minutes Buffy slowly let her hand lean further and further back until she finally let all her strength go and her hand hit the table.

"Oh my God I can't believe you beat me!" she said in fake shock and took a shot.

"You're a cheater! You let me win!" Dean laughed and joined her in a shot.

Buffy shook her head innocently, "No I didn't my arm must be really tired from all the earlier wrestles. Slayers get tired too." She said as she batted her eyes innocently and rubbed her arm feigning that it was sore.

Dean shook his head as he pressed a beer to his lips, "You're a big liar." He snorted and downed the remnants of his beer.

Buffy shrugged and picked up the last shot, "Maybe." She eyed Dean and gave him a grin, "But you'll never know." She said and downed the shot. They seemed to be going down far too easy. After ordering and downing more and more shots with Buffy, he started to see a different side to her, granted she might be drunk but in the weeks he'd known her he'd never seen her smile so much, she was easy to talk to, she was funny and she loved to dance. A couple of times she tried to drag him on the dance floor but after minutes of him not giving in she would go off on her own and dance like nothing else mattered. There didn't seem to be enough liquor in the world that made Dean that drunk and happy it seemed, but then again he never allowed himself to get that drunk.

When Buffy was starting to fall into people and no longer make any sense Dean thought it was best to get her back to the motel. It took a lot of encouraging and pleading but eventually he just picked her up and carried her out after he realised she couldn't even stand let alone walk. She struggled for the first few minutes but gave up and rested her head on his shoulder and babbled in her own world, most of it didn't make sense he only heard a few choice words, "Angel", "heartbreak", "Dracula", "Willow,", "Dawn" all of it not making any sense to Dean but it probably would to Buffy if he asked her.

Dean spotted the motel owner going into her own room and she stopped to smile and wave at him as they passed, "I told her not to drink on an empty stomach." Dean joked as he passed her and dug in his pockets for a key. He finally got the door open with great difficulty of juggling Buffy between one hand as he tried to unlock the door and turn the knob, he kicked the door shut behind them and Buffy jumped in his arms.

"Are we home?" Buffy said quietly and a little distant.

Dean glanced down at her and gave her a little smile when she looked at him a little dazed, "Yeah we are, come on, let's sleep off this drink." He whispered and carried her to the bed and gently set her down on the bed. Buffy made a little whimpering noise when Dean pulled away and her arms seemed to tighten around his neck, taking his arms in his hands he gradually pulled her arms off his neck. "Come on, you have to sleep." He spoke softly in her ear and Buffy started to pull away.

Buffy opened her eyes and looked up at Dean and stroked his face, she watched his face frown then soften and shut his eyes.

"You deserve to be happy you know" she said groggily and smiled at him as she put both hands on his face.

Then Buffy sat up and pulled Dean down until their lips met, then she pulled him on top of her and she crashed back down onto the bed. Dean pulled her in close and pulled at her hair and arm as he kissed her harshly, trying to take in as much of her as he could and Buffy pulled at his shoulders and pushed herself into him as much as she could. When her hands ran under his shirt and up his back Dean pulled away.

"I….can't" he said panting and pushed himself off her and walked as far away as he could which was only a few feet away and he lent on the kitchen sink and looked out the window.

"But… why?" he heard Buffy speak up, he couldn't look at her but he turned his face so he could see her out the corner of his eye, he could see her sitting up in the bed and pulling her shirt down. He saw her stand up and gingerly walk towards him. He turned his face away and stared back out the window just as he felt her hands on his shoulders, "I know you want to" she giggled in his ear and ran her hands down his arms.

Dean spun so quickly Buffy had to take a couple of steps back, "Oh, believe me, you have no idea how badly I want to." He said quietly still looking at anywhere but at Buffy.

Buffy smiled, "Well why don't you?" she said and closed the space between them and lifted her head into a kiss but Dean grabbed her shoulders and pulled her at arms distance, "You're drunk. I won't take advantage." He stated.

Buffy shrugged him off her arms and held out her arms, "Advantage? You have permission, by all means go ahead! You have the advantage!" she yelled.

"You're drunk!" Dean yelled back so loud Buffy jumped startled and blinked and slowly brought her arms back to her sides. "Now get your skinny ass in that bed before I have to knock you unconscious" he said quieter but still forceful.

Buffy nodded, "Okay," she spoke quietly and headed back to the bed, "But we will talk about this in the morning!" she piped up as she kicked off her shoes and got under the covers.

"If you even remember" Dean laughed under his breath and rubbed at his face, trying to wipe away the last few minutes. He'd never missed Sam more than right this moment where he was stuck alone in a motel room with a beautiful blonde that he didn't dare touch and he just wanted his brother here to talk to. He pulled out his cell and opened his phonebook and scrolled down to Sam's name and his thumb hovered over the Call button. After a minute or two he shut his phone back off and put it back in his pocket. He looked back out the window again, the motorway across was fairly busy mostly delivery trucks drove by and every now and again one would come in the parking lot and get a room.

"Fuck… Sammy," Dean whispered to himself. He turned back around and looked over at the bed; Buffy was sprawled out – like a starfish – with her head hanging off the side of the bed and the covers only on her feet. Dean slowly walked across the room and gently lifted her head back onto the pillow, he saw Buffy frown slightly and he froze but after a second her face softened and she took a deep breath.

"What the hell am I gonna do with you?" he whispered to her but it was more a question to himself. Would he be able to keep his hands off her, he doubted it. Dean knew it was only a matter of time before he finally gave in but he knew he would only break her heart in the end, like he always does.

He pulled the covers back up and over her body so she was fully covered and he took the pillow she wasn't using and threw it on the sofa.

He sighed. "At least one of us is gonna get a good night sleep." He mumbled as he took off his shirt and boots and lay on the sofa and pulled the kaftan down over himself and tried to sleep but all he could think about was either his brother or just curling up beside Buffy and sleeping happily.

The sound of a long horn woke Buffy with a start, the sound of a Lorry horn made her jump upright and then the hangover kicked in. It felt like a drill going off in her brain, her eyes hurt, her throat was scratchy and her stomach was doing star jumps she didn't know whether she was hungry or was going to be sick.

She looked around the motel room. Dean wasn't there. She listened. He wasn't in the shower so he was out. She glanced over at the clock on the nightstand and her eyes widened. "Four P.M?" she yelled to herself as she threw the covers off and swung her legs around and put them on the floor, she felt around her jeans pocket until she got her cell out and looked at the clock on that.

Yep.

Four P.M.

Jumping out of bed Buffy stumbled a little and as she walked to the bathroom she felt like she was on a ship, everything was moving around her. Buffy managed to make it to the bathroom without falling over and she clutched at the porcelain sink and leant her head on the mirror. A wave of nausea almost knocked her over but she managed to strip off and get into the shower. The warmth of the water eased her nausea and the power from the shower massaged the aches that were creeping in her joints. It was in this moment that Buffy vowed she would never drink that much ever again.

Buffy didn't know how long she stood underneath the shower but the sound of the front door closing brought her back to reality and she shut off the shower and fumbled about the shower for a towel.

"Dean is that you?" Buffy called her voice still a little scratchy.

A few seconds later she heard, "Yeah… It's me." He sounded distant.

Buffy came out of the shower with the towel wrapped tightly around her and Dean was stood by the kitchen table, a bag of food on the table, and he wore the biggest pissed off expression on his face.

Buffy pulled the towel tighter as she came out the bathroom, "You okay?"

He didn't answer.

"I've just woke up," Buffy laughed, "Why didn't you wake me?" she asked, trying to fill the awkwardness.

Dean glanced at her but he didn't really look at her, "I tried but you were out for the count so I thought…" He finally realised she was stood in front of him in a towel and her eyes so wide and confused and she looked so innocent to him that it felt like to him the Buffy that tried to sleep with him the night before was just a dream. He smiled a little, "You should get dressed. Then eat. I bet your pretty hungry after the alcohol you consumed last night." He said as he sat at the table and opened the bag and brought out their burgers.

Buffy groaned and moved over to the bed where her bags were. "Hungry? I don't know whether I'm hungry or want to be sick. I'm never drinking that much again." She exclaimed as she turned her back to Dean and got dressed via in her towel.

She heard Dean chuckle, "Well I'm not surprised, you drank more than me." He watched as she hastily got dressed while she was in her towel and was amazed that she got her bottoms on in seconds then when she took off the towel to put her top on Dean looked away and cleared his throat in surprise.

Buffy hooked her bra on then put on a plain white vest top on and put on a grey oversized "U.C Sunnydale" sweatshirt. Her hangover really made her lazy today, she didn't put on any makeup and she just ran a brush through her hair quickly and let it try naturally. When she was dressed she put on a pair of grey tennis shoes and then sat down beside Dean and dug into her food.

She just bit into her burger when she saw Dean looking at her with a raised eyebrow. She raised hers back, "What?"

Dean just shook his head, "Nothing, it's just strange not to have to wait hours for you to be ready." He laughed.

Buffy glared at him then shrugged, "Well when I'm feeling like this you just be lucky that I'm dressed at all!" she laughed. She noticed again that he wouldn't look at her properly, "Did I…. do something last night? Did I make a fool of myself?"

Dean coughed nervously and put his food down, "I think it's best if you don't know." He commented then went back to eating.

Buffy thought for a moment then just nodded, "Well whatever it was I'm sorry." She said quietly and finished her burger. "So what have you been doing while I've been sleeping?"

Dean filled Buffy In on the new couple that had arrived and how he tried to get them to leave before nightfall but Scotty the café owner and the local sheriff made him leave town and he had to double back on himself to come back to get her.

"There's something fishy going on in this town and I'm not leaving this couple to get killed." Dean said as he scrunched up the empty burger wrapper and threw it inside the food bag.

Buffy got up and cleared the table, "Well you're right, there is something not right about this town it's too…." She shrugged at a word to describe this town and threw the empty bag in the trash can and picked up her coffee, "Anyway, let's leave it till it gets dark and we'll check out that orchard and make sure that couple isn't next." Buffy told Dean before running into the bathroom and throwing up everything she'd just eaten.

Oh the joys of alcohol.

It wasn't long before it finally got dark and once Buffy had stopped throwing up and was finally able to eat something without bringing it up again they headed back out to the orchard.

"You okay? How do you feel now?" Dean asked Buffy who was resting her head on the dashboard.

Her muffled voice came a few seconds later, "I still feel like crap but I will survive." She sighed and sat back upright.

"I feel responsible for you being in this state. I shouldn't have let you drunk so much…" Buffy heard him say but she stopped listening when she felt an ice cold wave running down her back, at first she thought she was going to throw up again but when she felt the hairs on her neck stand on end she knew it was her Slayer senses telling her something was happening.

"…If it wasn't for me you wouldn't have made an idiot of yourself last night-"

"Dean." Buffy held up a hand to signal him to shut up, "Do you hear that?" she asked and wound down the window.

Right at that moment Buffy heard the scream; Dean sped up the car round the corner but stopped abruptly when he saw a car abandoned at the side of the road. Their lights were still on and both doors were open.

Both Buffy and Dean got out and Dean threw her a rather large knife that he had in his coat pocket and he took his sawn off shotgun from underneath his seat.

They went at had a closer look at the car, "This was the couple's car."

"Do you think it's got them?"

Another scream.

They both nodded to each other and ran into the orchard.

GIRL: I can't believe it. We just got the car fixed.

They were about half a mile into the orchard when the couple almost fell on them they were running so fast.

Buffy looked past them fast enough to see the scarecrow walking towards them.

"Get back to your car!" Dean yelled and they both did so without question.

Buffy and Dean watched the scarecrow getting closer, he grabbed Buffy's arm, "Go! Go!" he yelled and they both started jogging backwards out the orchard. Dean cocked his shotgun and fired it straight into the scarecrows chest; it stumbled a little but carried on walking.

"I don't think bullets are going to kill this one." Buffy stated as she stopped jogging, "Go, I got this." She said.

Dean stopped running and cocked his head at her confused, "And I got your back, go do your thing. Be careful."

Dean, with his shotgun up ready to fire, watch Buffy run towards the scarecrow, quickly filling the gap between them and when she was almost a foot away from him she jumped up, kept her legs together and smashed her feet into the scarecrows chest. The scarecrow staggered a little more and Buffy fell on the floor winding her but she swung her legs and got back on her feet. The shot behind her which hit the scarecrow right in the chest caused the scarecrow to fall which gave Buffy enough time to pick up the knife she dropped and start swinging. But Dean caught her arm and she stopped to look at him, "Let's go."

Buffy pouted a little and looked back towards the scarecrow, "But…" it was gone.

Dean started pulling her away, "I don't think even you could kill this one without knowing what it is first." Dean stated and they both started running back out the orchard.

They found the couple standing by their car, when they were out of the orchard Dean cocked his gun again and looked around but there was no sign of the scarecrow.

"What—what the hell was that?" The guy asked panting.

Buffy and Dean shared a look, "Don't ask." Was all Dean said to him.

When they made sure the couple got out of Burtkitsville and back onto the highway they doubled back on themselves and drove back into town. They were driving a little over an hour, both not really saying anything, when Dean got his cell out of his pocket and dialled a number. He put it on loudspeaker and rested it on the dashboard.

When Sam's voice answered on the other end Buffy smiled happily. Finally Dean gave into his stubborn senses.

They both quickly filled Sam on what had been happening while he wasn't here, minus the Buffy getting drunk part.

"The scarecrow climbed off its cross?" Sam asked a little taken aback.

Dean nodded, "Yeah, I'm tellin' ya. Burkitsville, Indiana. Fun Town." Dean joked.

"It didn't kill the couple, did it?" Sam asked after a pause of silence.

Buffy shook her head, "No, we got there just in time."

"I can cope without you, you know." Dean joked.

Sam seemed to just ignore it or didn't hear it, "So, something must be animating it. A spirit."

Buffy shrugged, she really didn't have a clue, she wasn't used to researching what she was up against she was more stake first ask questions later. Dean on the other hand, shook his head, "No, it's more than a spirit. It's a god. A Pagan god, anyway."

Buffy looked at Dean a little taken aback that he would figure something like that out, "What makes you say that?" she heard Sam ask. Looks like they both agreed on that one.

"The annual cycle of its killings? And the fact that the victims are always a man and a woman. Like some kind of fertility right. And you should see the locals. The way they treated this couple. Fattenin' 'em up like a Christmas turkey." Dean explained.

"The last meal. Given to sacrificial victims." Buffy said finally getting the gist.

"Yeah, I'm thinking a ritual sacrifice to appease some Pagan god." Dean nodded and changed gears.

"So, a god possesses the scarecrow..." Sam started.

"And the scarecrow takes its sacrifice." Dean finished, "And for another year, the crops won't wilt, and disease won't spread."

"Do you know which god you're dealing with?" Sam said loudly over the noise in the background of wherever he was. Judging by the sound it was a bus or a train station.

"No, not yet." Dean answered.

"Well, you figure out what it is, you can figure out a way to kill it." Sam explained.

Dean rolled his eyes, "I know. I'm actually on my way to a local community college. I've got an appointment with a professor. You know, since I don't have my trusty sidekick geek boy to do all the research." He laughed, and waved off Buffy's "you never told me!" look.

Sam laughed also, "You know; if you're hinting you need my help, just ask."

Dean shook his head, "I'm not hinting anything. Actually, uh-" he eyed Buffy at the corner of his eye and stumbled over his words, he wasn't used to opening up to his brother let alone when a girl was around, "I want you to know….I mean, don't think…."

Sam sighed down the other end, "Yeah. I'm sorry, too."

"Sam. You were right. You gotta do your own thing. You gotta live your own life." Dean said as he turned the corner, Buffy grabbed the phone before it fell off the dashboard and put it back when Dean drove straight again.

"Are you serious?" Sam chortled.

Dean nodded to himself, "You've always known what you want. And you go after it. You stand up to Dad. And you always have. Hell, I wish I—anyway….I admire that about you. I'm proud of you, Sammy."

"I don't even know what to say." Sam said softly down the phone.

"Say you'll take care of yourself." Dean told him.

"I will."

"Call me when you find Dad." Dean spoke as quietly as Sam did a moment ago.

"OK. Bye, Dean." Sam sounded sad that their conversation had ended and when he hung up Dean took his phone and put it back in his pocket.

Buffy sat watching him drive for a few minutes, "What?" Dean asked impatiently.

Buffy shrugged, "I just thought that was really nice of you to let go of Sam like that." She replied and shifted in her seat so her back was on the door and she could see Dean properly.

Dean also shrugged, "Well he's gone and there was no way for me to get him back here. I just hope he finds dad and… kicks his ass or something." Dean laughed at the end. Buffy just smiled at his joke but realised it was better not to talk about it anymore, she could see that Dean missed his baby brother and she herself missed her family and knows how hard it is to talk about so she left it alone and let him drive.

Buffy woke with a start when she felt her arm being shook and someone shouting her name. Dean was leaning over her in the Impala with his hands up in surrender, it was then Buffy realised when she woke she instinctively raised her fist but she dropped it when she saw it was Dean just waking her up. She must have passed out on the way to the college which by the looks of the sunlight outside had taken them all night.

"Sorry. Just thought I would tell you that we're here and I'm going inside. You stay here." Dean said as he moved to get out of the car.

Buffy blinked a few times to process his words, "Okay… Hey, were you ever going to tell me we were coming here?" She asked as she sat upright and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

Dean smiled, "Yeah…. When we got here." He chortled and got out the car, before he walked away he leant down and looked at her through the open window, "I shouldn't be too long maybe twenty minutes so just wait here for me…. And remember…. Do not touch my car." He said the last part seriously.

Buffy rolled her eyes, he was never going to forgive her for the Gwen Stefani thing, "Sure, sure now go away so I can go back to sleep." She waved him off and when he turned away Buffy sprawled her legs out on the front seat and rested her eyes.

She shot her eyes open again and huffed. Now she was woken there was no way she could go back to sleep. One thing being a Slayer that was a pain in the ass was that she could function with little sleep, oh how she missed sleep.

Buffy sat up and flicked on the radio and she was met with the usual rock music she heard in the car but strangely she was getting used to it now, it wasn't music she would ever have listened to – the closest to rock she listened to was Dingoes Ate My Baby and they weren't really hard core. She thought about changing the radio channel but knowing her luck Dean would pop out and give her the third degree again. So she sat in her seat and sang along with the rock songs she kind of knew which were the ACDC and Led Zeppelin songs. After two or three songs Buffy didn't know the rest, she'd never been in the car long enough to know the rest on the tapes, so she just sat tapping her foot on Dean's seat and tried to ignore her hunger. She only ate a small amount after throwing all her breakfast up the day before and now the hangover was wearing off her hunger was returning.

And so was her memory.

She remembered the arm wrestling hustling she and Dean did and how much they earned; she remembered the hundreds of shots she drank; trying to get Dean to dance and him having none of it and so she was dancing by herself – she got very embarrassed by remembering this as Buffy herself wasn't a big dancer especially by herself – she remembered Dean carrying her home… and them making out…. And Dean pushing away… and Buffy telling him she wanted him to carry on….

"Oh my God!" Buffy sat upright then hit her head on the dashboard two or three times then buried her face in her hands. "Oh my God Buffy! What the hell!" she cried in her hands. No wonder Dean couldn't look at her properly! She didn't blame him; if it was the other way around and Dean was throwing himself at her Buffy wouldn't be able to look at him the same again.

She slowly removed her face from her hands when she eventually calmed down and her hands went into her hair, she frowned when she saw the car drive past her and stop outside the college. A police car, to be more exact the Sherriff squad car.

Turning off the radio Buffy watched the police officer get out of his car, he looked very pissed off – Buffy thought maybe he was here to pick up a student but Dean being inside it was too much of a coincidence. Taking the keys out of the ignition Buffy slowly got out the Impala and followed the police officer as closely as she could. She stopped at the bottom of the steps and watched the officer enter the building, she crouched beside the pillar attached to the steps and waited and a few minutes later the officer and another old man were carrying Dean outside. Buffy ran to the closest car and hid behind it and peered over and watched the two men stuff Dean into the trunk of the squad car.

"Crap!" Buffy whispered loudly and did a crouch run back to the Impala and tried to open the door as quietly as she could and creeped inside all the while keeping her eyes on the officer and the man – which Buffy guessed was the professor Dean was meeting – who were currently having a heated conversation. Buffy started up the Impala when the officer got inside his car and pulled out onto the road.

"Dean I'm doing this to save your ass so please forgive me" she mumbled as she put the car into "Drive" and pulled out onto the road and very slowly followed the squad car.

It had been a long time since Buffy drove a car and hadn't wrecked it in the process. Actually there isn't a car that she'd drove that she'd never wrecked. Taking a gulp Buffy put her foot on the accelerator and sped up gradually until she met up with the police car but not too close for him to notice.

Buffy followed the squad car to a small house in a residential area, she stopped the Impala a few houses down and got out and kept as close to the other houses and out of eyesight as much as she could. Buffy followed the officer, who was dragging Dean along the front garden, around the back of the house. She wedged herself between the edge of the house and a large bush so she could turn to look around the corner without being seen. She saw a group of people all stood around a basement door that sat at an angle on the side of the house and she watched as they opened it and pushed Dean inside – closing the doors behind them. Once again the group had a heated discussion and then an old couple went inside the house for a few minutes and brought out a young blonde. She looked familiar but Buffy couldn't place where from she'd seen her. The young girl had tears streaming from her face and was gasping for breath.

"Aunt Stacy. Uncle Harley, please." She sobbed as the old couple opened the cellar door and pushed the young girl in and led her down the stairs. "Why are you doing this?" Buffy heard the girl yell.

The couple came back out of the cellar and the woman looked down sadly into the cellar, "For the common good." She said proudly and shut the cellar.

Buffy rolled her eyes, she figured out they were now going to use Dean and their own niece as a sacrifice for the scarecrow and it was now up to Buffy to stop it.

Just then Buffy heard breaking of twigs behind her and she turned and ducked quick enough to miss a garden rake to the face. Scotty, the owner of the café she saw a couple of days ago, kept swinging the rake so much Buffy had to push her way out of the bushes and into sight. She ducked every swing and eventually Buffy caught the pole in her hands and pulled it free from Scotty and snapped the wooden pole in half.

"Now that's no way to greet new people into your town." Buffy said as she threw the broken rake on the floor and dodged punches from Scotty.

Buffy threw in a punch to Scotty's nose and he fell like a ton of bricks, Buffy stood over him, "And that wasn't even me at my best. You try to hit me again and I'll show you how much damage-"

WHACK!

A blow to the back of the head sent Buffy falling sideways. Everything went black except the stars that floated in her eyesight. Buffy felt a kick to the stomach strong enough to wind her slightly.

"Who the fuck is she?" she heard a male voice say a few yards away.

"She's with that guy. His wife or somethin'" The nasally voice Buffy knew was Scotty.

Buffy rolled onto her stomach and started to push herself up but another blow to the head sent her back to the floor.

"W-What shall we do with her?" Buffy was only hearing muffled voices now. It was a woman's voice so she imagined it was the old lady. "Should we kill her?"

Another kick to her side and Buffy yelped. "No. We'll take her to the orchard." Nasally. It was Scotty again.

"We already have our sacrifices. Emily and that guy." A muffled man said. Old guy?

Buffy rolled on her stomach and earned a kick in the face.

"We'll take her anyway. I'm sure Vanir will take pleasure in killing her too." Buffy blinked a few times and saw Scotty, the officer and the old couple standing over her. The officer was holding a shovel. It was clear who was the one knocking her in the head.

Scotty looked at the officer beside him, "Tie her up first. She's strong." He said then gave another kick to the side before walking away.

Buffy glared up at the three people standing over her, she looked straight at the officer holding the shovel. "When this is over. I'm going to kill you." She didn't mean it. She would just hut him a little. But the look on his face was enough. Though she didn't expect him to bring the shovel back down and whack her straight on the side of her face. Everything went black. She went out like a light.

Eventually when it was starting to get dark they were ready for the sacrifice. They took Dean and Emily out of the cellar and drove to the orchard. The officer tied Dean to one tree and Emily to a tree next to him.

"How many people have you killed, Sheriff? How much blood is on your hands?" Dean said through gritted teeth.

The sheriff sighed "We don't kill them." He said plainly as he knotted the rope around the tree.

Dean looked straight at him but the sheriff wouldn't look him in the eye, "No, but you sure cover up after. I mean, how many cars have you hidden, clothes have you buried?" Dean asked just as plainly but the sheriff just got up and walked away.

"Uncle Harley, please." Emily sobbed and struggled while her uncle tied her up.

"I am so sorry, Em. I wish it wasn't you." Her uncle replied with slight sadness.

Her auntie walked and stood beside her uncle, "Try to understand. It's our responsibility. And there's just no other choice. There's nobody else but you." She exclaimed.

"I'm your family." Emily glared.

Her aunt knelt down to look at her niece, "Sweetheart, that's what sacrifice means. Giving up something you love for the greater good. The town needs to be safe. The good of the many outweighs the good of the one." She said softly and stroked Emily's cheek.

Her aunt and uncle walked away and Dean was just about to shout at them when he saw Scotty, who was sporting a very fat nose and two black eyes, come into view with a blonde in his arms.

"Shit! Buffy!" Dean yelled and struggled against his ropes. He watched as the Scotty tied Buffy down beside him. Dean noticed Scotty was using more rope than he did on Dean so they knew she was strong. "What the hell have you done to her?"

Scotty pulled out more rope from a backpack and starting tying her again, "She saw us earlier. We can't take the risk. She's another sacrifice for Vanir." He said matter-of-factly as he finished the knot in her ropes and stood up and looked at Dean.

"If that thing kills her I'm comin' after you!" Dean roared and pulled on his ropes.

Scotty just smirked, "Look where you are. You'll be dead long before you can catch me." He believed and walked away.

"I hope your apple pie is freakin' worth it!" Dean yelled after him, he struggled against his ropes for a second then lent back on the tree.

"So, what's the plan?" Emily asked tiredly.

Dean looked around then back to Buffy, "I'm workin' on it."

Hours passed. It was almost pitch black. Buffy still hadn't woken and all three of them were still tied up.

"You don't have a plan, do you?" Emily grumbled.

Dean was still looking around, "I'm workin' on it." He said sounding slightly panicked.

Emily sighed and rested her head on the tree. She saw Dean turn his head to look at Buffy for the hundredth time. "Who is she?"

Dean looked over at Emily, "What?"

"The girl. Buffy? Who is she?"

Dean thought for a moment, "She's… a friend." He said quietly.

Emily shuffled around until she got a little comfortable, her bottom was starting to numb. "She seems like more than a friend to you. I mean I saw the way you looked when Scotty brought her out and I heard what you said to him." Emily explained.

Dean sighed, "Your one smart cookie." He mumbled and looked away from Emily, "She is a friend but she… I can't give her what she wants we'll leave it at that." Dean finished and tried to look behind him.

"Can you see?" he asked.

"What?"

Dean turned to Emily, "Is he moving yet?"

Emily looked behind her but all she could see was trees, "I can't see"

Dean turned to Buffy and leant as close as he could to her, "Buffy! Buffy wake up!" He whispered loudly.

Buffy seemed to wake slightly but she kept her eyes shut.

"Buffy!" Dean yelled in her ear so loud that Buffy jumped awake. Dean let out a breath, "Finally. If I knew that would have woke you I would have done that hours ago." He stated and leant back on the tree.

Buffy took in her surroundings then she felt the pain in her head and remembered the group of people planning to sacrifice them all. "God I feel like I've gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson." She said as she struggled against the ropes.

Dean laughed, "You look it too."

Emily was still looking over her shoulder to watch for the scarecrow when she saw a shadow moving towards them, "Oh my God." She said and began to wriggle in her ropes.

Both Buffy and Dean tried to look behind them but neither had a good view. They could hear the footsteps loud and clear though. They both started to try and get free but Buffy noticed they took extra care in tying her up as she had more rope than anyone.

"Oh my God!" Emily screamed as the shadow came closer.

"Dean?" came Sam's voice and seconds later he came out from behind the trees and stopped to take in the three of them tied up.

Both Buffy and Dean relaxed and were smiling happily.

"Oh! Oh, I take everything back I said. I'm so happy to see you." Dean said overjoyed, "Come on." Dean looked up at his ropes and Sam began to untie them.

"How did you get here?" Buffy asked a little dazed, the blow to her head really concussed her.

Sam looked at Buffy nervously, "I, uh—I stole a car."

Dean smiled, "Haha! That's my boy!" he laughed happily. "And keep an eye on that scarecrow. He could come alive any minute." Dean told him as Sam finished the last knot on the ropes.

Sam looked behind him, "What scarecrow?" he asked confused.

Both the brothers get up and Dean looked over at the scarecrow post… it was empty.

"Crap…" Dean muttered, he tapped Sam on the chest and pointed at Emily, "Help me untie them. Quickly"

Sam went to untie Emily and Dean made his way to Buffy who was struggling to keep her eyes open, he tapped her face softly so she would look at him, "Stay awake for me okay? We're gonna get you out of here." He said softly and pulled out his pocket knife from his back jeans pocket and started to cut at her ropes.

"Dean…" Buffy said quietly.

Dean turned his head and saw Emily was free. He looked to Sam, "Get her as far from that post as possible. Keep your eyes out. We'll catch up."

Sam only nodded and ushered Emily in the opposite direction.

"Dean…"when he heard his name being called he looked back to Buffy and continued to cut through her ropes. He managed one knot… only three more to go.

"I remember…" Buffy trailed off. "…What I did…"

One more knot cut.

"I remember trying….trying to seduce you… I'm sorry." Buffy said quietly.

Dean let out a little laugh as he cut through his third rope, "Ah its okay. Actually I'm pretty flattered. You don't have to apologise." He said softly and cut the rope.

One more to go.

A rustling behind him made Dean cut faster.

"C'mon Buffy you gotta help me get these off. Use your super strength." He pleaded and Buffy pulled at the ropes as hard as she could while Dean sliced at the rope until finally it snapped and Buffy fell forward on her face.

Dean helped her up and put an arm around her waist to keep her upright, "C'mon" he said as he got her to run with him in the direction that Sam and Emily went.

After a few minutes of running Buffy seemed to waken and become more alert she was able to run by herself but Dean kept a close distance to her just in case. They caught up to Sam and Emily and all four were running through the orchard, Dean and Buffy taking the lead.

"Alright, now, this sacred tree you're talking about-" Sam said through pants as he ran at the back.

"It's the source of its power." Dean answered.

"So let's find it and burn it." Sam exclaimed as he followed Dean and the girls around a corner.

Dean shook his head, "Nah, in the morning. Let's just shag ass before Leather Face catches up." Dean stated as they reached a clearing but rustling caused them to slow down. Waiting in the shadows were the townspeople that tied them up earlier – plus a few more – with guns. Dean took Buffy's hand and grabbed Emily's arm, "This way." He turned them around another corner but there was Scotty holding up a shotgun at them. Looking around they realised they were blocked in all directions. They could hear the scarecrow getting closer.

"Please. Let us go." Emily cried.

"You don't have to do this!" Buffy yelled and squeezed the hand that Dean was holding.

"It'll be over quickly, I promise." Emily's uncle said while he held up a shotgun at his own niece.

Emily sobbed, "Please."

The gun her uncle held started to shake, "Emily, you have to let him take you. You have to-"

All of a sudden, the scarecrow's sickle pierced through the uncles stomach. Emily and her aunt screamed, Emily turned and tried to bury herself into Sam. Buffy let go of Deans hand and got into her slayer fighting pose The sickle in her uncles chest was pulled out and the scarecrow grabbed for her auntie.

Buffy saw the townspeople lower their weapons and run while the scarecrow kept hold of Emily's aunt and put the sickle in her uncles leg and drag them away.

Dean put a hand on Buffy's back and pushed her forward, "Come on, let's go." They started to run but Buffy stopped. Dean stopped too.

"I can't leave here. I have to help them." Buffy stated.

"Buffy, they're as good as dead already." Dean sighed and tried to usher her forward. Buffy shook him off.

"But they aren't dead yet. This is my job. I have to save them." Buffy shook her head at him and ran in the direction the scarecrow went in before Dean could talk her out of it.

Buffy could feel her blood pumping in her ears and her legs were aching from how fast she was running. She hadn't run so fast in a long time. The wind on her face and the crunching of the twigs beneath her feet brought her alert.

She stopped and listened for a sign of where it could be. She heard a faint screaming coming from her left and Buffy sprinted in that direction. The next thing she knew she was on the floor. She'd tripped over something. She was half laying on it. Scrambling to her feet Buffy saw the pale body of the uncle had been skinned and various organs were missing. She forced herself not to be sick and carried on running.

There was a small clearing near a giant tree which Buffy guessed is the sacred one. The scarecrow had Emily's aunt pinned to the tree with nails in her hands and she was crying in pain. The scarecrow wasn't in sight so Buffy ran to her and tried to pull out the nails.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry" the woman kept repeating over and over.

Buffy grabbed at a nail that was embedded in her palm, "its okay. We're going to get you out of here. This is going to hurt." Buffy shut her eyes and pulled at the nail and slowly it started to come out, the woman screamed and writhed in pain but eventually it came out. Buffy threw it on the ground and she grabbed the nail in the other hand.

"Well done. Okay only one more then you're free." Buffy said reassuringly as she pulled out the last nail in her other palm. Again she screamed and writhed but the nail came out and she was free. Buffy helped her to her feet and began walking the way she came.

The woman kept saying "sorry" over and over again and when Buffy stopped to tell her that she didn't have to be sorry was when a sickle went straight through the woman's throat. Killing her instantly. The scarecrow pulled his sickle out and grabbed the body and threw it a few feet away on Buffy's right. The scarecrow started towards Buffy and she continued to walk backwards but when it started picking up speed Buffy turned and started to run. Not realising there was a tree right behind her; luckily though Buffy got the right footing and ran up the tree and flipped backwards and kicked the scarecrow in the head and it staggered into the tree. Landing shakily on her feet Buffy turned around and was caught in the face by the scarecrows arm. It came at her with its sickle, it slashed at her stomach but Buffy was quick enough to dodge. The scarecrow raised its hand to slash at her from above but Buffy blocked it with both hands and kicked it in the stomach and as it fell back she grabbed the sickle from its grasp. This time Buffy did the slashing and the scarecrow did the dodging. But it wasn't fast enough. Buffy got in some deep slashes too its stomach but naturally it didn't do anything it just pissed it off more. A shot from behind the scarecrow made Buffy jump and the scarecrow lost focus from Buffy to turn around. Dean was by the sacred tree holding up a shotgun. Buffy used this opportunity to take the advantage. She swung the sickle into the scarecrows arm and pulled him back and swung the sickle and slammed it into a tree. The scarecrow tried to move but it was stuck and it swung out with its free arm to grab Buffy but she was already running to Dean.

"I got her free but it killed her…" she said quickly.

Dean looked over at the scarecrow who was trying to pull the sickle out with its free hand, "We gotta go."

Buffy nodded and they both ran back the way they came and made it out of the orchard and onto the main road where Sam and Emily were waiting in Sam's stolen car. As she and Dean got in the back Buffy just shook her head at Sam to signal she didn't save anyone.

The next morning they went back to the orchard. Buffy directed Sam to the street that the Impala was parked on, she explained to Dean that she drove and though he was a little shocked he didn't scream at her. They swapped cars, she and Dean smiled when Sam put his stuff in the trunk, Emily picked up some clothes and money, and they headed to the motel. They bought another room for Emily and Sam shared with Buffy and Dean – Buffy had the bed, Dean and couch and Sam the floor (even though she insisted one of them have the bed). After a few hours' sleep until the sun came out they drove back the orchard to finish the job. Buffy and Dean directed them to the spot where they found the tree. There was no body. There was no scarecrow. Sam opened the bottle of gasoline he'd been holding and poured it over the tree. Dean grabbed a branch and rubbed the end in some of the gasoline before lighting it.

Emily held out her hand, "Let me."

"You know, the whole town's gonna die." He stated as he held hold of the branch.

Emily took the branch from him and turned towards the tree, "Good."

They watched as Emily closed the gap between her and the tree and throw the burning branch onto it. Within a second the entire tree was up in flames and they stood and watched it burn to a crisp.

A couple of hours later they packed up their belongings and headed out of town. They stopped at the bus station to drop off Emily. Buffy walked with her to the bus that was heading to Boston with the boys trailing behind.

"You sure you're going to be okay?" Buffy asked.

Emily nodded, "Yeah I have another Aunt who lives there, I called her last night so she knows I'm coming. Will… Will you guys be okay?" Emily asked as the bus pulled up.

Buffy laughed and nodded, "Yeah we'll be fine." She looked over at the brothers and smiled, "All of us."

Emily started up the steps to the bus but stopped and turned to Buffy, "No matter what he says… he cares about you. Even I saw that."

When she saw the confused look on Buffy's face Emily just smiled and continued up the bus. She stopped at the top of the bus and looked out the window, Buffy was walking back to the boys and Emily smiled at them. When Dean waved a goodbye Emily waved back.

All three stayed to watch the bus leave.

"Think she's gonna be alright?" Sam asked as they watched the bus revers.

"I hope so." Dean replied.

"She will." Buffy corrected.

Sam looked at his brother, "And the rest of the townspeople, they'll just get away with it?"

Dean cocked his head and rolled his eyes, "Well, what'll happen to the town will have to be punishment enough." He said as he walked back to the car. After a pause Dean said casually, "So, can I drop you off somewhere?"

Both Buffy and Sam smiled, "No, I think you're stuck with me."

They stopped when they reached the car, Sam turned to face his brother and Buffy stopped beside Dean.

"What made you change your mind?" Dean asked.

Sam shook his head, "I didn't. I still wanna find Dad. And you're still a pain in the ass."

Dean just nodded.

"You got that right." Buffy muttered.

"But, Jess and Mom—they're both gone. Dad is God knows where. You and me. We're all that's left. So, if we're gonna see this through, we're gonna do it together." Sam explained.

Dean nodded and pursed his lips, "Hold me, Sam. That was beautiful." He said in a mock cry and put a hand on Sam's shoulder.

They both laughed as Sam hit his brother's hand off. Buffy just shook her head at the pair; it was like nothing had happened. They all walked around the car.

"You should be kissing my ass, you were dead meat, dude." Sam said pointing at his brother. Sam noticed Dean's hand on Buffy's back as they rounded the side.

"Yeah, right. I had a plan, I'd have gotten out." Dean stated as he opened his door.

Buffy opened her door, "I clearly remember your plan was waking me up so I would set you free so we could run away?" Buffy said to Dean with a little smile and a raised brow.

Dean laughed, "What, it was a perfectly good plan!"

Buffy laughed and shook her head, "So, can I drive?"

Dean's eyes nearly popped out of his head and he just shook his head, "Hell no!" was all he said and when Buffy started laughing he started too.

Sam watched the pair as they smiled at each other before they got inside, "Right." He mostly said to himself and got inside the car. The dynamic had changed since he left. Something had happened between the pair... only time would tell if it would work.

* * *

Well that was my version of "Scarecrow" I hope you liked it. Next episode will be "Faith" where Buffy is reunited with an old enemy. Comments and criticisms are always encouraged :D


	9. Faith

Okay so after I finished Scarecrow I had to write Faith because I've been dying to write in an old enemy of Buffy's.

Hope you like. DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Eric Kripke owns Supernatural and it's scripts and Joss Wheedon owns Buffy. This was made for fun.

I used the TwizTv script for Supernatural Season 1, Episode 12 "Faith"

* * *

This week they were in the middle of nowhere yet again. It was pitch black tonight; you couldn't see the moon from the fog. Dean pulled up to an abandoned houseand parked. All three got out and headed for the trunk. Dean took out three Taser guns – new additions to their weapons collection – and handed them out.

"What do you got those amped up to?" Sam asked as he took a flashlight.

"A hundred thousand volts." Dean replied quickly as he gave Sam his.

"Damn." Sam sighed as he put the gun in his waistband of his jeans.

"Yeah, I want this Rawhead extra frickin' crispy." Dean said as he gave Buffy a Taser after she got her flashlight and took his own Taser and flashlight and shut the trunk, "And remember," He looked from Sam to Buffy, "you only get one shot with these things. So make it count."

Buffy and Sam nodded and followed Dean into the abandoned house. Dean took the lead, Buffy stayed in the middle and Sam took the back just in case something popped out behind them – Buffy may be getting better with a gun but she still wasn't as good as these two.

Buffy followed Dean through the hallway, past the kitchen and towards the basement. Every now and again they would stop and point their Tasers in empty rooms.

"Why are we going straight to the basement?" Buffy whispered loudly to Dean.

Dean looked over his shoulder, "They're always in the basement… Have I not taught you anything?" he stated and carried on walking.

Opening the basement door as quietly as he could Dean entered slowly and both Buffy and Sam followed suit. The closer they got to the basement floor the more they moved their guns and flashlights about, the boys more than Buffy as she could see pretty well in the dark. When they reached the bottom scuffling brought their attention to an old cabinet. Keeping his Taser pointed directly at it Dean looked at the blonde and his brother and they all formed a half circle around the cabinet.

"On three. One. Two. Three." On the last word Dean opened the cupboard and two scared young kids cried and covered their ears.

They were barely seven maybe less. One boy and one girl.

"Is it still here?" Sam asked the kids to which they nodded quickly.

Dean nodded and lowered his Taser, "Ok. Grab your sister's hand," he said to the boy and held out a hand for the boy to take and he pulled them out of the cupboard.

The little girl took Sam's hand and her brothers and followed them.

"Come on, we gotta get you out of here. Let's go, let's go." Dean said as he and Sam ushered them up the stairs.

Letting the boy go Dean let Buffy past him so he was last to go up.

The kids and Sam were at the top of the stairs and Buffy was halfway when it grabbed her foot and pulled her so hard she fell down the stairs. The kids screamed at the top of their lungs and Buffy heard the guys shouting her name as she rolled down the stairs. In the midst of all the commotion Dean headed to the back of the stairs and fired his Taser but he missed.

Buffy got back on her feet and looked up at Sam who was standing halfway down the stairs with his Taser out, "I'm okay. Get them outta here!" she yelled at him.

"Dean, take this!" Sam yelled and threw his Taser at his brother then ran back up the stairs and took the kids outside.

Buffy rubbed the ankle the thing grabbed, "Fuck!"

Dean glanced at her for a second, "You okay?" he asked as he moved backwards to her side.

Buffy nodded and put her foot back on the floor gingerly, "Yeah… I think I just sprained my ankle. I'll be okay." She said quietly and put a hand on Dean's shoulder for support in getting her weight on her bad foot. Today was not a good day to be wearing rubber heeled boots.

When she was okay Buffy let him go and held up her Taser and walked around the basement. Dean went the opposite way.

"Come on." He called to the beast they were hunting but there was nothing. Only scuffling from the other side knowing Buffy she'd probably fallen over something. Dean looked around his area a little more but there seemed to be nothing there so he turned and started to go back and find Buffy.

"Dean, behind you!" Buffy yelled but before he had time to turn Buffy pushed him out the way and tackled the creature which looked like some kind of werewolf.

Dean crashed into the wall and slid on the floor in a puddle from a leaking pipe. He pointed his Taser at the creature which was clawing at Buffy but she was dodging quickly and throwing punches to get out from the corner it pinned her into. When she was out of the corner she lured it towards Dean. She got clawed in the arm but it didn't affect her she just fought through the pain and landed herself some good punches.

"Buffy get out the way!" He yelled and she turned just in time to see him fire the Taser.

She watched the Taser clasps stick to the creature and saw the electricity run through its body.

Down to the water.

Next thing she knew she was blown across the other side of the room.

After a few seconds she sat up and saw her feet were smoking but pretty much intact. She'd been electrocuted once before and she remembered what that was like and her hands instantly went to her hair which felt like an afro at this moment. She looked over at the creature which was burnt to a crisp and her eyes followed the electricity in the water to Dean who was shaking and twitching.

"Oh My God! Dean!" Buffy yelled and jumped to her feet and ran towards him. By the time she got to him he'd stopped twitching and was unconscious.

She patted Dean's face, "Dean? Dean wake up! Its Buffy wake up!" she yelled and hit his face harder and harder. The image of her trying to wake her mother's dead body came into her mind and Buffy tried to fight back tears.

"Buffy?"

She looked up and saw Sam standing at the top of the stairs.

"He won't wake up!" Buffy cried and turned back to Dean and shook him, "Wake up!" she cried, she could feel the tears streaming down her face.

Sam ran down the stairs and almost fell on Buffy he was running that fast, he knelt down beside her and grabbed Dean's face. "Dean!" he yelled, he also tried to shake him, "Dean, hey. Hey." He said softly as he shook his older brother but Dean remained unconscious.

Twenty minutes later and they were at the local hospital. Buffy sat in the busy waiting room, trying to ignore the sound of crying children, phones ringing non-stop and voices coming over the tanoy. She'd given a statement to the police officers that followed them to the hospital and they were just waiting for Sam to finish giving Dean's details and insurance form over to finish his statement. Sam walked over to Buffy and put a hand on her shoulder and he turned to the officers that were stood beside her.

"Look, we can finish this up later." One suggested as he looked at how distressed Buffy was.

Sam shook his head, "No, no, it's okay. We were just taking a shortcut through the neighbourhood and, um, the windows were rolled down. We heard some screaming as we drove past the house and we stopped… Ran in." Sam explained to the officer.

"And you found the kids in the basement?" the officer asked.

Sam nodded, "Yeah."

The officer smiled, "Well, thank God you did."

Sam smiled a little back and saw the doctor treating his brother coming down the corridor. He let go of Buffy's shoulder. "Excuse me." He said to the officers and walked away.

Buffy looked up when Sam removed his hand from her shoulder and saw the doctor and was by Sam's side in seconds.

The doctor didn't look to happy, "The electrocution triggered a heart attack. Pretty massive, I'm afraid. His heart—it's damaged." He said dejectedly.

Buffy sniffed back some tears, "H-How damaged?" she asked.

The doctor looked down at Buffy with pity, "We've done all we can. We can try and keep him comfortable at this point." He looked back at Sam, "But, I'd give him a couple weeks, at most, maybe a month."

Sam repeatedly shook his head, "No, no. There's—there's gotta be something you can do, some kind of treatment." He suggested.

The doctor just shook his head, "We can't work miracles." He told Sam then looked from him to Buffy, "I really am sorry" he said with half remorse.

Sam tried to hold back his tears, nodded once then walked away.

"Sam!" Buffy called after him but he was already outside. Buffy turned back to the doctor who was looking at her apologetically. "Can… Can I see him?" she asked, her tears starting to fall again.

The doctor nodded and led her to Dean's room.

Buffy peered through the window and saw Dean lying in the hospital bed and her heart almost fell to her stomach. He looked awful. His skin was so pale he already looked dead, dark circles under his eyes, and he was holding the TV remote in his hands like it was too hard to lift.

Buffy quietly entered the room but he must have seen her out the corner of his eye because he said, "Where's Sam?" even his voice was feeble.

She walked closer to his bed and stood in front of him so he didn't have to turn to see her.

She wiped some tears off her face, "He... uh… Sam went to get some air. We just talked... to your doctor." She struggled to get out the sentence without crying all over again. "I'm so sorry." She whispered and moved to sit on the seat beside his bed; "If I never pushed you into that puddle none of this would have happened!" she cried and took his hand.

"Don't." Dean started and swallowed for a second, "It wasn't your fault. It would have still happened if you didn't or it would have been the other way around and you in this bed." He glanced up and Buffy's face, her eyes were red and puffy and her cheeks were streaked with tears, he removed his hand from hers and wiped the tear off her cheek "I'd rather me than you in here." He said softly.

Buffy closed her eyes when Dean touched her face and she took his hand in hers and put it back on the bed, she got off the chair and leant over and planted a soft kiss on his forehead.

When she stood straight again Sam entered the room and Dean turned his attention to the television.

"Have you ever actually watched daytime TV? It's terrible." Dean said weekly.

Buffy saw that Sam's eyes were a little red. "I talked to your doctor." He told his big brother.

Dean let go of Buffy's hand and turned the channel over, "That fabric softener teddy bear. Oh, I'm gonna hunt that little bitch down." He tried to joke.

"Dean." Sam said seriously.

He looked at his brother for the first time and saw the pain on his face, "Yeah." He sighed and turned off the TV and threw the remote on the table beside him, "Alright, well, looks like you're gonna leave town without me." He stated.

"What are you talking about?" Buffy asked.

"I'm not gonna leave you here." Sam told him.

Dean looked up at his brother seriously, "Hey, you better take care of that car. Or, I swear, I'll haunt your ass."

Sam fought back tears, "I don't think that's funny."

Buffy turned away from them and put her face in her hands.

"Oh, come on, it's a little funny." Dean teased and both Sam and Buffy glared at him, they were in silence for a few seconds until Dean spoke feebly, "Look, Sammy, what can I say, man, it's a dangerous gig. I drew the short straw. That's it, end of story."

Sam shook his head, "Don't talk like that, alright? We still have options."

Dean scowled "What options? Yeah, burial or cremation. And I know it's not easy. But I'm gonna die. And you can't stop it." He declared

Buffy saw Sam's face scowl, "Watch me." He said to his brother and walked out the room.

Buffy looked at the open door Sam just left and looked at Dean, "Should I run after him?"

Dean chuckled painfully, "I think that would be wise."

Buffy stroked his hair, "Do you need anything?"

Dean shut his eyes for a second then shook his head, "No. You should go after Sam."

Buffy removed her hand from his hair and nodded, "If you need anything… call me okay."

Dean nodded and watched Buffy leave and fought back tears when he was finally alone.

Three days later Buffy and Sam were in the motel they rented before they went out the night before. Buffy was sat at the table looking through medical books she borrowed from the local library on heart care while Sam was calling everyone he knew that he thought could help. Right now he was trying to get through to his Dad.

"Hey, Dad. It's Sam." He said as he started to sob, "Uh….you probably won't even get this, but, uh….It's Dean. He's sick, and uh….the doctors say there's nothing they can do." He let out a breath to gather his strength, "Um….but, uh, they don't know the things we know, right?" he joked, "So, don't worry, because, uh….I'm gonna do whatever it takes to get him better. Alright….just wanted you to know." He hung up the phone when he was finished and he was about to cry when there was a small knock at the door. He looked at Buffy who just shrugged, "Everybody I know is here." She said.

Sam got up and opened the door. Dean was leaning against the frame looking more washed out than he did at the hospital.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sam said when he saw his brother there.

Buffy jumped out of her seat and stood frozen by her chair.

"I checked myself out." Dean replied as he came into the room, holding onto things as he walked past.

"What?" Buffy asked as she sat back in her seat.

"Are you crazy?" Sam asked.

Dean leant on the chest of drawers beside the front door and turned to his brother, "Well, I'm not gonna die in a hospital where the nurses aren't even hot." He shrugged and Sam laughed as he shut the door.

Sam turned to him when the door was closed, "You know, this whole I-laugh-in-the-face-of-death thing? It's crap. I can see right through it."

Dean shrugged, "Yeah, whatever, dude." He started to move and Sam grabbed his arm and helped him over to the table to sit him down, "Have you both even slept?" he looked at Sam, "You look worse than me." He stated then looked at Buffy – who was sat across from him, "Except you, you always look good." He smiled.

Buffy and Sam shared a quizzical look and Sam shook it off, "I've been scouring the Internet for the last three days. Calling every contact in Dad's journal." He said as he sat on the edge of the bed beside Dean.

"For what?" the big brother asked.

"For a way to help you. One of Dad's friends, Joshua, he called me back. Told me about a guy in Nebraska. A specialist." Sam explained.

Dean sighed, "You're not gonna let me die in peace, are you?" he asked seriously.

Sam smiled, "I'm not gonna let you die, period. We're going."

Dean shook his head and looked over at Buffy, "And you're okay with this?" he asked a little louder.

"Actually," Buffy got up and sat beside Sam, "Yes I am. You're not going anywhere." She said with her own smile and both Buffy's and Sam's grew when they saw Dean shake his head and groan.

After a lot of arguing from Dean they eventually made it to Nebraska. Sam pulled up into a muddy field beside a large white tent. Dean looked around at the people outside, some looked really sick, some were on walking sticks. They all got out and Sam ran to Dean's side to help him out the car.

Dean read the sign stuck to the tent. It said, "The Church of Roy LeGrange. Faith Healer. Witness The Miracle."

"I got ya." Sam said as he helped Dean out the car. Dean grunted in pain and pushed his brother weakly.

"I got it." He demanded and looked at his brother and Buffy, "Man, you two are lying bastards. Thought you said we were going to see a doctor?" he said angrily and slammed his door shut.

"I'm pretty sure we said a specialist." Buffy said as she shut her door and put her hands on Dean's chest when he nearly toppled over on her.

"Look, Dean, this guy's supposed to be the real deal." Sam explained as he followed Dean who was storming off towards the tent.

Dean sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets, "I can't believe you brought me here to see some guy who heals people out of a tent."

An elderly woman spoke up as she walked past them, "Reverend LeGrange is a great man."

"Yeah, that's nice." Dean said sarcastically.

Buffy laughed and shivered. She wasn't prepared for the cold weather.

"I'm gonna get a jacket, I'll catch up with you both." She said and jogged back to the car and popped the trunk. She rifled through the many types of duffel in the trunk till she found one of her own and started pulling out different jackets. Eventually she found her cream jacket with fur on the inside. It was so warm and Buffy never had a chance to wear it in Sunnydale. Putting it on, she closed the trunk and searched for the boys. She couldn't find them at first, all she could see were old people gathered in little circles, a protester getting thrown out by the cops and that's when Buffy saw her.

"No…"

Dean was flirting with a blonde, not much taller than Buffy, and she looked exactly the same as when Buffy saw her almost seven years ago.

When she watched Angel stake her.

"Darla… No!" Buffy ran up to the guys as Darla was walking away with a much older woman.

"What the hell did she want! How is she…?" Buffy was saying but to Dean and Sam it didn't make much sense.

"You mean Layla?" Dean pointed behind him at Darla.

Buffy shook her head, "No, her name is Darla and she-"

"Uh, Buffy she just told us her name is Layla." Sam said nervously.

Buffy clenched her fists and her teeth, "Do not trust anything she says okay!" she yelled and stormed off into the tent.

Dean and Sam looked at each other, "What's gotten into her?" Dean asked.

Sam shrugged, "I dunno… maybe she's jealous." He giggled and walked up to the tent.

Dean sighed and shook his head and followed behind.

When they went inside Buffy was stood at the back with her arms folded keeping her eyes on "Layla" who was sat at the front. She looked ready to kill her.

Dean looked around the tent and saw the security cameras, "Yeah, peace, love, and trust all over." He commented and pointed at the camera.

He went to sit in one of the empty seats at the back when Sam pulled on his arm. "Come on."

"What are you doing? Let's sit here." Dean spat pointing at the two empty chairs.

Sam pulled on his brother's jacket, "We're sitting up front."

Dean dragged his feet across the floor, "What? Why?"

"Come on." Sam said as he led him to the front.

"Oh, come on, Sam." Dean whined as he walked towards the front of the tent.

"You alright?" Sam asked quietly.

Dean glowered, "This is ridiculous. I'm good, dude, get off me." She growled and slapped at Sam's hands and pushed him away.

Sam pointed at the two empty seats in the second row, behind Layla and her mother. "Perfect."

"Yeah, perfect." Dean grumbled as he made his way to the seats.

Buffy kept to the back of the room and glared at the girl that Buffy knew was a vampire. One that was supposed to be dead! Buffy herself watched Angel stake her seven years ago when Buffy was barely in high school.

"Layla's" real name was in fact Darla and she is the vampire that turned Angel many centuries ago. Buffy didn't know how she came back or why she came back and she definitely wasn't a doppelganger she could feel in her gut that it was the same person that should be a dead vampire… not a sick Christian.

Buffy was too busy thinking how Darla could be here and looking so human that she barely registered that Dean was up on the podium with the faith healer.

Buffy watched as the faith healer put a hand on Dean's shoulder and then to his forehead. Buffy watched Dean's eyes roll back and she walked closer to the podium.

"Alright, now. Alright, now." The faith healer said as he held onto Dean's forehead.

Dean opened his eyes weakly and tried to look at his brother but his eyes were glazed and he fell to his knees.

"Alright, now." The faith healer said again just before Dean fell back onto the floor.

"Dean!" Both Buffy and Sam ran to his side. Buffy glared at Darla for a second, who looked at her surprised then confused, before turning her attention to Dean. Sam was shaking him as she knelt beside him and Dean suddenly opened his eyes, gasping for breath.

"Say something." Sam demanded to his brother.

Dean stared past Buffy's shoulder and up at the faith healer. Behind the healer Dean saw a dead man in a black suit staring at him then he vanished and then Dean passed out again. Buffy grabbed one of Dean's arms and put it around her shoulders and Sam copied with the other arm and they began carrying him out. They were almost outside when Buffy saw the blonde coming towards them.

"Sam get him in the car, I'll meet you there." She said as she let go of Dean's arm and turned just as the blonde stopped beside Buffy.

She looked over Buffy's shoulder, "Is he going to be okay? Did Roy heal him?" She asked sweetly.

Buffy scowled and closed the gap between them, "I know who you are."

"Layla" looked on confused, "You do?"

Buffy scoffed, "Don't play cute with me. You know who I am too."

"Layla" raised a brow, "But I just met you tonight."

Buffy grabbed her shoulder and squeezed it tightly, she felt the girl jump in her hands, "I don't know how you came back but I'm going to find out. Now you listen to me. Stay away from Sam and Dean or this time I'll make sure you stay dead!" she growled and let her go and walked back to the car where Sam was waiting with the engine running.

Dean woke as they drove to a hospital. Dean insisted that he felt fine but both Buffy and his brother wanted to double check. Dean took a couple of tests and he was told to wait in the cubicle for the results. Both Dean and Buffy were sat on the bed and Sam was pacing the room.

"So, you really feel okay?" Sam said amazed.

"I feel fine, Sam." Dean said distantly, not being able to get that dead man's face out of his mind. A nurse came back inside with a clipboard, "Well, according to all your tests, there's nothing wrong with your heart. No sign there ever was." She said shaking her head.

Dean looked at the nurse curiously where as both Sam and Buffy looked at the nurse with smiles. "Not that a man your age should be having heart trouble, but, still it's strange it does happen." She said as he wrote something on his chart.

"What do you mean, strange?" Dean asked.

The nurse folded her arms and looked sad, "Well, just yesterday, a young guy like you, twenty-seven, athletic. Out of nowhere, heart attack."

"Thanks, Doc." Dean said politely but distant.

"Oh, no problem." She smiled and left them all alone.

Dean looked at his brother with raised brows, "That's odd."

Sam only shrugged, "Maybe it's a coincidence. People's hearts give out all the time, man."

"No, they don't."

"Look, Dean, do we really have to look this one in the mouth? Why can't we just be thankful that the guy saved your life and move on?" Sam asked.

Dean got up off the bed, "Because I can't shake this feeling, that's why."

"What feeling?" Buffy asked getting up too.

Dean turned to her and picked up his jacket, he put it on while he spoke, "When I was healed, I just—I felt wrong. I felt cold. And for a second, I saw someone. This, uh, this old man. And I'm telling you, Sam, it was a spirit."

"But if there was something there, Dean, I think I would've seen it, too. I mean, I've been seeing an awful lot of things lately." Sam explained. After all Sam was the one having all the visions in his dreams.

Dean turned back to his brother and walked over to him, "Well, excuse me, psychic wonder. But you're just gonna need a little faith on this one." When Sam rolled his eyes Dean said, "Sam, I've been hunting long enough to trust a feeling like this."

Reluctantly Sam nodded, "Yeah, alright. So, what do you wanna do?"

"I want you two to go check out the heart attack guy. I'm gonna visit the reverend." Dean ordered.

"You sure you're okay by yourself?" Buffy said to him.

Dean turned to her and nodded, "Yeah I just… need some time to myself you know?" he responded.

Buffy just nodded and took Sam's arm and they left the hospital to the place the guy died.

Dean dropped Buffy and Sam off at the dead guy's – Marshall Hall they eventually found out – local gym where he had the heart attack. Dean said he would meet them at the motel in a couple of hours and drove off leaving them outside the gym. As they turned to walk up the steps Sam shoved his hands in his jacket pocket and looked down at Buffy a little nervously.

"Can I ask you somethin? 'Cause Dean won't talk to me about it." He said carefully.

Buffy stopped at the top step and turned to him, "Sure. What's on your mind?" she said casually.

Sam thought for a second and smiled, "I just… I wanna know what happened while I was gone? Between you and Dean… You both seem… Different around each other."

Buffy stiffened and folded her arms, she suddenly felt very hot in her jacket, "Well… It was just me and him for a few days and you know we-we just got real close because we didn't have anyone else to talk to." Buffy said quickly and not looking at Sam in the eyes… She definitely didn't want to tell him about her throwing herself at his big brother while she was drunk.

Sam nodded, "Dean goes squirrelly like that whenever I ask him too… So something did happen?"

Buffy looked down at her slightly muddy tennis shoes and thought she really needed to invest in more weather proof footwear. "Maybe." She said quietly. When she glanced up she saw the cheeky smile on Sam's face and she smacked his arm, "Not that! Sam we didn't. We just… I don't know... gotten more comfortable around each other? Accepted that nothing will happen between us." She explained as she dug her hands into her pockets and only then did she realise how cold her hands were.

Sam opened the door to the gym, "Oh something will happen… eventually."

As she walked past him into the gym Buffy said, "Not if Dean has his way."

Sam watched as she entered the gym and spoke to one of the instructors, "Oh if Dean had his way he'd have you already" He muttered as he entered the gym.

"I'm telling you, he seemed healthy. Swam every day, didn't smoke. So, a heart attack just kind of seemed, well, bizarre." One of the gym instructors, who are a close friend to Marshall, said as he led them further into the gym. They walked through the locker room, a few people were showering but luckily there were cubicles so they didn't see any nakedness.

"And you said he was running, right before he collapsed?" Sam asked as they rounded a corner and out of the locker room to the pool area.

They all stopped at the steps that lead up to the pool, "Yeah, yeah, he was freaking out. He said that something was, uh, was after him."

"Did he say what?" Buffy asked, leaning against the railing behind her.

The guy looked over at her and scratched his head, "Well, thin air is what. I mean, it wasn't anything." He shrugged.

Sam thought for a moment, looked to Buffy then back at the instructor, "Alright, thanks." He started walking up the steps and Buffy was about to follow when Sam stopped and pointed at the clock on the wall in front, "Hey, buddy? Your, uh, your clock's busted."

The instructor headed up the steps and stopped beside Sam and nodded, "Oh, yeah, we, uh, can't get it workin'. Just froze at 4:17."

"Is that the same time Marshall died?" Sam asked.

The instructor looked taken aback, "How'd you know?"

Sam and Buffy shared a look then Buffy smiled and pushed Sam up the stairs, "Well thanks for your time. We'll see ourselves out." She said chirpily as they both headed up the stairs.

When they left they both stopped off to get some food, thankfully Sam ate healthy so Buffy was able to eat normally and not burgers or fries like Dean – it was actually the first meal she'd ordered herself, Dean usually bought her meals. They both discussed that Marshall dying at the same time as Dean's healing wasn't a coincidence.

Dean left the healer, Roy LeGrange's, house reeling from everything he'd just heard when he bumped into the blonde he met the day before.

She smiled when she saw him as she walked up the steps, "Dean, hey." She said sweetly.

He smiled slightly and stopped on the steps, "Hey."

Layla, the blonde, stopped when she was beside him, "How you feeling?"

Dean nodded, "I feel good." He looked back at the house, "Cured, I guess. What are you doing here?"

She smiled nervously, "You know, my mom, she wanted to talk to the reverend." She answered and that moment her mother was walking up the steps.

"Layla?" Roy's wife, Sue-Ann, came outside.

Dean and Layla looked up at her and Layla smiled as she carried on up the steps and stopped when she reached Sue-Ann, "Yes, I'm here again."

Sue-Ann looked at Layla sadly, "Well, I'm sorry, but Roy is resting, and he won't be seeing anyone else right now."

Layla's mother pushed past Dean and stood behind her daughter, "Sue Ann, please. This is our sixth time; he's got to see us." She said desperately.

Sue-Ann nodded, "Roy is well aware of Layla's situation. And he very much wants to help just as soon as the Lord allows. Have faith, Mrs Rourke."

Dean looked between the mother and Sue-Ann. When Sue-Ann went inside Layla's mother turned and scowled at Dean visibly upset.

"Why are you still even here? You got what you wanted." She spat at him cruelly

"Mom. Stop." Layla moved down a step.

Mrs Rourke turned to her daughter, "No, Layla, this is too much. We've been to every single service. If Roy would stop choosing these strangers over you. Strangers who don't even believe." She glared at Dean, "I just can't pray any harder." She said tiredly.

Dean ignored her mother and looked over at the sad blonde, "Layla, what's wrong?"

Layla hesitantly looked back at Dean with a nonchalant smile, "I have this thing…."

Dean shook his head at her in a "What does that mean?" manner.

Her mother spoke up, "It's a brain tumour." She moved past Dean and looked out at the field, "It's inoperable. In six months, the doctors say..." she trailed off when Layla put a hand on her shoulder.

Dean couldn't look at her, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"No. It isn't." her mother spoke then turned to Dean, "Why do you deserve to live more than my daughter?" she asked venomously and walked away before Dean could speak

Dean looked up at Layla who was forcing back tears and as she walked past him down the steps Dean grabbed her arm, "Layla…"

She stopped and took a breath before looking at him, "Really, Dean. It's okay. Just… you're friend… can you keep her away from me?" she said shakily.

Dean blinked at her a couple of times, "What?"

Layla removed her arm from Dean's hand and walked down the steps, when she reached the grass she turned to Dean, "The girl. She said things to me. She threatened me to stay away from you." Dean looked at her with wide eyes, "I'm sorry I shouldn't have said anything." Layla shook her head and ran off to find her mother. Leaving Dean standing on the steps just wondering what the hell was going on with Buffy and why Layla wasn't being helped.

After eating Buffy and Sam went back to the motel and Buffy looked through some books while Sam looked on the internet on something that could kill and man and heal another at the same time. They weren't any closer an hour later when Dean came back. As soon as Sam saw his brother his face contorted into upset.

Dean glanced at Buffy as he walked through the motel but quickly ignored her and threw his jacket and keys on the bed beside her. He stood at the table where his brother was sat and asked, "What'd you find out?"

Sam slowly took in a breath, "I'm sorry." He said softly.

"Sorry about what?"

Sam couldn't even look at his brother. He couldn't even get out the words.

Buffy inched her way off the bed and sat at the edge, "Marshall Hall died at 4:17." She explained and looked everywhere at Dean but in his eyes.

He turned around to Buffy, stunned by her words, "The exact time I was healed." He said and turned his head to look back at his brother.

Sam was nodding, "Yeah. So, I put together a list of everyone Roy's healed," he leant over the table and picked up some sheets of paper, "six people over the past year, and I cross-checked them with the local obits." He handed Dean the papers to look at and carried on, "Every time someone was healed, someone else died. And each time, the victim died of the same symptom LeGrange was healing at the time."

Dean pulled up a chair at the table and flipped through the pages, "So… Someone's healed of cancer, someone else dies of cancer?"

Sam dropped his shoulders and ran a hand through his hair, "Somehow. LeGrange—he's trading a life for another."

Dropping the papers on the table, Dean leant back in his seat, "Wait, wait, wait. So, Marshall Hall died to save me?" he asked pissed off.

Buffy got up and stood between Dean and Sam, "Dean, the guy probably would've died anyway. Just it would have been someone else healed." She tried to explain.

"You two should never have brought me here." Dean spat as he got out of his seat.

Sam watched his brother move over to where he threw his jacket minutes ago, "Dean, I was just trying to save your life."

Dean stopped, turned and pointed at his brother, "But, Sam, some guy is dead now because of me." He yelled.

"We didn't know." Buffy said apologetically.

Dean seemed to take that in and finally stopped being pissed off at them both.

"The thing I don't understand is how is Roy doing it? How's he trading a life for a life?" Sam asked distantly like he was trying to work out the answer while he asked the question.

Dean walked back over to his seat beside Sam, "Oh, he's not doing it. Something else is doing it for him."

Buffy rested her hips on the table and gripped at the table edge, "What do you mean?"

Dean moved again but stopped when he was stood across from Sam, "The old man I saw on stage. I didn't wanna believe it, but deep down I knew it."

Sam looked at him like Dean just solved a math equation, "You knew what? What are you talking about?"

Dean leant over and planted his hands on the table, "There's only one thing that can give and take life like that." He said directly at his brother. When Sam and Buffy looked at each other confused Dean made it clearer, "We're dealing with a reaper."

Buffy let out a breath, "Okay… So how do we kill it?" she asked in her slayer like way.

Dean shrugged, "I don't know." He looked at Sam, "You get researching," Standing up straight he tapped Buffy on the arm, "Can I talk to you… in private."

Buffy's brows almost shot up to the ceiling, "Uh, sure."

Dean led Buffy into the bathroom of their motel and when they were both inside he shut it and all the anger he was holding in finally shown on his face. When he turned Buffy was sat on the edge of the bathtub looking confused but not worried, she had no idea what he was about to say.

"So I spoke to Layla earlier." He said quietly so Sam couldn't hear them.

Buffy still looked at him confused. Dean leant against the sink and smiled sarcastically, "Or should I call her Darla? Is that what you called her?"

Buffy shot off the edge of the tub and stood in the middle of the room, "What are you talking about?" she asked seriously.

Dean moved so he was almost nose to nose with her, "She told me about the conversation you had with her the other day. How you threatened her?" Dean explained. His voice getting more and more angry.

"I didn't-" Buffy started to speak up but naturally Dean cut her off.

"How you told her to stay away from me?" his eyebrows furrowed and he looked at her like he didn't know her anymore, "You have no right to say who I can and can't talk to. You-you're not my mother and you certainly aren't my girlfriend." He spat.

Buffy bit the inside of her mouth and had to look at Dean's shoulder while she collected herself before she broke some of his bones.

"That…. That's not what happened." She said slowly and turned away as she spoke, "You don't know this girl Dean she's dangerous." When she turned around Dean had his back to her but she could see his face in the mirror; he looked disappointed, "She's supposed to be dead!" Buffy exclaimed. How was she supposed to say that she was once a vampire but she watched her vampire boyfriend stake her?

Dean spun around then, "She is going to die! She has brain cancer, Buffy. Layla will be dead soon."

Buffy shook her head, "No that's what she wants you to think!" Buffy closed the gap between them and put a hand on his arm, "She's playing with you, Dean. That's… what she does." Buffy looked down at Dean's scuffed boots.

Dean pushed her hand off his arm, "I think it's you who's doin' the playing." He said coldly.

Buffy shot her head up and shook her head, "What? No-"

Dean looked at everything but her, "Nothing's ever gonna happen between us. So stop messing with me and people I talk to." He looked at Buffy then with sad eyes, "We're never gonna happen." He said quietly then pushed his way past her and out of the bathroom and left her in there clutching to the porcelain sink barely holding her tears back.

When she left the bathroom a few minutes after she saw Dean and Sam sat at the table, books everywhere and Sam was tapping away on the laptop keys, when they both looked up at her Buffy stared at Dean with tear filled eyes for just a second before grabbing her jacket of the back of Dean's chair and running out the room.

Sam shifted his eyes towards Dean who was just stood there with his eyes shut and the sorriest look on his face, "Uh, should I ask?"

Dean shook his head, "No."

Sam sighed, just when he thought Dean was making progress with his intimacy issues he takes three steps back, he shook his head as he looked back at his laptop which had many different popups on Reaper lore. "So you really think it's the Grim Reaper? Like, angel of death, collect your soul, the whole deal?"

Dean was looking back at the papers in his hands and he shook his head in answer, "No, no, no. Not the Reaper, a reaper." Putting the papers down he picked up another few different sheets, "There's reaper lore in pretty much every culture on Earth. Go by a hundred different names. It's possible that there's more than one of 'em."

Sam rested his elbow on the table and rested his head on his hand, looking confused, "But you said you saw a dude in a suit."

Dean almost laughed, "Well, what, do you think he should've been workin' the whole black robe thing? You said it yourself that the clock stopped, right?" he shifted through some papers and held up a sheet for Sam to see, there was a reaper skeleton holding a body with Latin above the picture, "Reapers stop time. And you can only see 'em when they're comin' at you, which is why I could see it and you couldn't." Dean explained.

"Maybe." Sam muttered into his hand.

Dean threw out his hands, "There's nothing else it could be, Sam." He lifted more papers and began sifting again, "The question is how Roy is controllin' the damn thing?"

Sam was deep in thought. He thought back to when he was in the tent: he remembered the bustle of sick people getting to their seats, the security cameras, all the different crosses dotted around the room. The cross on the pillar where Roy stood.

"That cross." He said distantly.

Dean didn't look up from his papers, "What?"

There were a stack of tarot cards beside Sam and he opened the pack, "There was this cross. I noticed it in the church tent; I knew I had seen it before." He explained as he shuffled through the pack until he found the picture, he held it up for Dean to see. It depicts a skeleton with a crown on its head the cross – which had a long bottom, two short ends and the top was circular with another cross inside - is in the corner of the picture.

"A tarot?" The older brother asked as he took the picture to look further.

Sam shrugged, "It makes sense. I mean, tarot dates back to the early Christian era, right? When some priests were still using magic? And a few of them veered into the dark stuff. Necromancy, and how to push death away, how to cause it."

Dean was still examining the card, "So, Roy is using black magic to bind the reaper?"

Sam took the card back and put it back in the pack, "If he is, he's riding the whirlwind. It's like putting a dog leash on a Great White." He half joked.

Dean thought for a second, picked up his mug and took it to the sink, he leant on the sink and looked down at his brother, "Ok, then we stop Roy."

"How?"

"You know how." Kill him.

"Wait, what the hell are you talking about, Dean? We can't kill Roy." Sam said calmly.

"Sam, the guy's playing God; he's deciding who lives and who dies. That's a monster in my book." Dean said stubbornly.

"No, we're not gonna kill a human being, Dean. We do that, we're no better than he is." He almost yelled at the audacity his brother was saying.

Dean mentally shook his head, "Okay, so we can't kill Roy, we can't kill death. Any bright ideas, college boy?" he asked sarcastically.

"Okay, uh, if Roy is using some kind of black spell on the reaper, we've gotta figure out what it is. And how to break it." Sam said proudly.

Contemplating his plan Dean nodded, "So let's go." He walked to the other side of the room to grab his jacket.

Sam slowly got out of his chair, "Uh, shouldn't we call Buffy?"

Dean finished putting his leather jacket on as he spoke, "No."

Sam marched to his brother's side, "Okay what is going on between you two? You're hot for each other and cold the next." He bellowed.

Dean scrunched up his face, "No we're not. There is nothing going on. Just leave it Sam."

"Don't screw with me Dean. I'm not deaf; I could hear you screaming at her in the bathroom."

Dean threw a hand out towards the front door, "Well she's acting all crazy and threatening innocent people!"

"Maybe she has a good reason for it." Sam stated seriously.

Dean dropped his arm and didn't say anything.

"Even I can see there's something going on there. Don't push her away just because you're scared of-"

Dean put a finger in his brothers face, "I am not scared, Sam. She's acting crazy and I told her to stop. If you and Buffy can't handle that then that's your problem." He spat and stormed out the room.

"I'm calling her!" Sam yelled as he put on his jacket. As he locked up the room he called Buffy and barely a minute later she'd arrived in the parking lot, her eyes were still a little puffy but she seemed to calm down a lot.

Dean was already in the Impala with the engine running and Sam ran to the car and dived in the backseat.

Dean turned in his seat and yelled at the same time as Buffy who stood there with the backseat door open, "Hey!"

"What are you doing?" Buffy shrieked.

Sam looked up at her with an innocent smile. "I'm sitting here, in the back, until you two sort your business out and make up." He said pointedly.

Dean scoffed and turned back around, "Stop messing around Sammy."

"Seriously Sam, we are fine. Get outta my seat." Buffy almost growled.

Sam just shook his head, "Nope. Not till I'm satisfied that you two have made up."

Buffy tried to stare him out for a minute or two but he wasn't giving in, "Fine." She slammed the door shut and walked around to the passenger seat. When she slammed the door behind her, she and Dean both tensed up and Dean sped off back to Roy's church.

The entire time they drove Sam tried to get both of them to apologise but neither would say it first. Buffy didn't even want to apologise as she hadn't done anything wrong, she was trying to protect her friends by keeping them away from dangers they didn't even know about. Dangers that shouldn't even be here. Not that she could tell them that "Layla" was once a vampire because then she'd have to tell them that her ex-boyfriend – who was also a vampire – was the one that staked her.

They drove in a tense conversation, Sam and Dean filling Buffy in on what they were doing, to the church, turning into the muddy parking lot there was a sign stating that there was to be a service tonight and so it made the pressure harder to find whatever it was controlling the reaper.

"If Roy is using a spell, there might be a spell book." Sam said as he got out the car when they'd found a spot to park.

"See if you can find it." Dean said and looked at his watch, "Hurry up, too, the service starts in fifteen minutes. I'll try to stall Roy."

Sam nodded once, "Alright." They were about to split off when the protester from the day before came up to them with a stack of flyers.

"Roy LeGrange is a fraud. He's no healer." He said as he handed all three flyers.

Dean took his happily, "Amen, brother."

Sam and Buffy also took their flyers and Sam pointed at him, "You keep up the good work."

"Thank you." The protester said happily and walked away.

Sam left towards the house and Dean started towards the tent. When he spotted Buffy heading towards the house with Sam he grabbed her elbow. When she stopped and looked at him he let her go and stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets, "Where you goin'?"

Buffy shrugged angrily, "Thought I'd go with Sam. You made it perfectly clear you don't like my company." She spat and left towards Roy's house before Dean could retort.

Instead he shook his head sadly and then jogged up and into the tent.

Buffy spotted Sam running to the back of the house and so she followed.

"Sam!" she whispered loud enough for him to jump with a start and silently signalled for her to hurry up the back porch and stay out of sight.

They both walked along the porch and stopped when they heard the front door open; keeping their back to the wall and away from windows they inched further around the corner. Sam, at the front, held up a hand signalling Buffy to stay still and he looked around the corner of the house; Roy was being led down the steps by his wife and another man. Sam kept his hand in the air until they were far enough away then he dropped his hand to his side and opened the window he was leaning on.

When he was inside he helped Buffy through, though it seemed easier for her as she was much smaller than him.

"Why you here with me?" Sam said quietly as he and Buffy searched around the living room.

Buffy just shrugged as she flicked through the ornament cabinet, "Your brother made it clear he didn't want me around." She said in a bored tone.

Sam spotted door that led off the hallway, when he twisted the knob he found it was locked. He smiled at Buffy's answer, as he took out his lock picking kit, "Or is it because you didn't want to see Layla in the church?" he turned to see Buffy's reaction, her angry confused face made him nervous, "I heard your conversation in the bathroom." He told her.

Buffy sighed and walked over to him, "Her name isn't Layla. She's dangerous. Just… trust me."

Sam looked at her earnestly and just nodded and with a little flick of the wrist the door opened with a small click.

It was a library.

There was dust everywhere: on the floor, on the shelves, on the books, even the ceiling if it was possible. Buffy could practically feel her throat getting itchy and her eyes watering at the amount of dust accumulating inside. They looked around the room for a second.

Buffy opened a book that was on the table and flicked through some pages before slamming it shut and almost getting caked in dust.

"It doesn't look like this place has been used in years." She coughed as she waved a hand in the air to remove the dust spores.

Sam was busy examining the bookshelf, reading the spines of the books to see if anything stood out but he could barely read from all the dust. He ran a finger in the dust on the edge of one of the shelves and he noticed that one part of the shelf was dust free. "An Encyclopedia of Christian History" was the book where there was no dust. It didn't seem like a book to read if you were summoning Reapers to do your bidding.

Sam took the book out and flicked through the pages but there was nothing out of the ordinary. Glancing back at the shelf he noticed something hidden behind where the book was. Putting the huge Encyclopedia down on the table he reached inside the bookcase.

"What is it?" Buffy asked, coming up beside him.

With a smile Sam turned and showed her a small thick black book. As he flipped through the pages there was a lot of scribbling's and drawings inside, some news clippings. He flipped the page that was bookmarked, the drawing on one of the pages was clearly of a Reaper and turning over the page there was the cross Sam spotted in the church.

"Oh my God." He said half-heartedly, he was hoping it wasn't true – that Roy was actually a healer.

"What are those? News reports?" Buffy pointed at the clippings on the same page.

Sam opened up the folded clippings: one was a clipping of Marshall Hall – stating he was an openly gay teacher and won some law suit; the next clipping was of a young woman that appeared to support abortions; the next clipping was of a protester named David who claimed Roy's church was a cult. The man in the photo was the protester standing outside.

"We can't let them do that service." Buffy said quickly as Sam put the book in his jacket pocket and dug out his cell and phoned his brother.

They were walking down the steps of the house when Dean picked up the phone, "Roy's choosing victims he sees as immoral. And I think I know who's next on his list. Remember that protestor?" Sam said down the line.

He nodded at whatever Dean said, "Yeah. Yeah, I'll find him. But you can't let Roy heal anyone, alright?" He nodded once more then hung up. He turned to Buffy, "Come on, let's find David."

They both ran around the parking lot with no luck.

Buffy turned to him and spoke as she caught her breath, "What if we're too late?"

Just as she spoke they both heard a male voice crying for help.

"I don't think we're too late!" Sam yelled as he ran towards the screams.

They listened to more screams but there wasn't anything for a while. Sam decided to run one way and Buffy the other. It was Buffy who could hear him scream.

"Help! Help me, please!" David, the protester, was hiding around a car and crying his eyes out.

Buffy ran to him and turned to face whatever David was looking at but she couldn't see anything.

"Where is it?" She asked putting her hands up to see if she could feel whatever was there.

David pointed directly in front of her and screamed, "Its right there!"

Buffy had two options; she could either swing her fists to see if she actually hit anything and risk David dying, or to run and hope Dean creates a distraction.

Buffy grabbed David's arm and pulled him away, "Run!" she yelled as she pulled him away and ran to find Sam.

"Sam? Sam! Sam!" Buffy yelled as they ran through the parking lot, every now and again David would look over his shoulder and scream but kept on running.

"Buffy! Over here!" She heard Sam's voice a few yards away. Sam had his phone to his ear and had a smile on his face when they caught up with him.

"Dean stopped it." He said to Buffy and turned to the crying man at her side, "David, I think its okay." He said softly.

David let go of Buffy and looked around anxiously as he walked away.

But then he stopped dead in his tracks and shook his head, "No!" he cried just before he started falling to the ground. Buffy ran to his side and saw his entire skin started to whiten, his eyes began glazing over but the fear was all over his face.

Buffy could faintly hear Sam screaming down the phone, "Dean, it didn't work! The reaper's still comin'!"

"David? David listen to me!" Buffy yelled to him as she knelt down beside him, David was gasping for breath and clutching at the dirt beneath him.

Sam knelt on the other side of David still with his phone to his ear, "I'm tellin' you! I'm tellin' you, it must not have worked. Roy must not be controlling this thing!" he was yelling.

Buffy was trying to get David to concentrate on her voice when Sam hung up the phone, "It's not Roy. It's his wife." He told her.

Buffy was just about to say "What the hell?" when David started to breathe properly and his colour started to return.

Buffy and Sam helped him to his feet and all three just stood there trying to see the Reaper that almost killed him.

"Thank God." David gasped.

Buffy and Sam laughed at the irony in his words and Sam patted him on the back as he walked away, "We better find Dean." He said to Buffy as she walked by his side. They rounded the corner to the tent and were surprised to see everyone standing outside looking panicked.

Dean was stood between two officers and Sue-Ann, the real person behind these killings, was giving him a good talking too. She eventually walked away back to her husband and after a small conversation the two officers left too. When he turned to go back to the car he was bombarded by Layla

"Why would you do that, Dean? When it could've been my only chance." She said almost close to tears.

"He's not a healer." He said feebly.

"He healed you." She counteracted.

Dean didn't know what to say to her that would make it better, "I know it doesn't seem fair. And I wish I could explain, but Roy is not the answer. I'm sorry."

Layla looked at him with disappointment, "Goodbye, Dean." He watched her as she began to leave but she turned to look at him once more, "I wish you luck. I really do."

"Same to you." He called to her then when she was out of ear shot he said, "You deserve it a lot more than me." He said sadly.

When Layla walked away she spotted Buffy and Sam stood on the outskirts and she scowled, "I thought you would be in this as well!" Layla almost screamed as she neared Buffy.

Buffy was actually surprised, "What?"

Layla closed the gap between them, "Look I don't know what your problem with me is but I think you have me confused with someone else because I have never seen you before in my life! You want me to stay away from you and your friends? Well stay away from me!" Layla yelled and everyone turned to see the commotion and Buffy turned red with embarrassment.

Layla seemed to gather herself for a second before sticking her chin out, span on her heels, and walked away.

"What the hell was that about?" Sam asked her quietly.

What the hell was that about? Buffy asked herself. What was going on? Was this Layla really just a sick young woman who was fighting for her life that just happened to look like Darla instead of a dead vampire brought back to life? What was more realistic?

"I think I may have confused her with someone else." She said timidly and dejectedly went to the car and got in the front. When she was inside she put her face in her hands and forced herself not to cry. She was so obsessed with this girl that Buffy never thought that she could be anything other than just a sick girl that just happened to look like Darla. Maybe she was just a distant relative. Eventually Sam and Dean got in the car.

"You okay?" Dean asked as he turned on the engine.

Buffy had her elbow rested on the window and her hand was holding up her head and she was staring out at an empty field. "I'm sorry," she said after a long silence.

"You were right. I was just being crazy." She said, glancing at Dean as he drove them back to the motel.

Dean thought for a moment before speaking, "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have gone off on you like that."

After a minute Sam shifted in the back and popped his head between them both and smiled, "I knew you two would kiss and make up."

Dean snorted and Buffy just laughed and slapped him lightly on the forehead.

When they got back to the motel Dean told them that Roy was planning a private sermon for Layla tonight. Dean was pacing the motel room while Sam sat on the bed and just watched him walk back and forth and Buffy made them a coffee.

"So Roy really believes?" Sam asked and shook his head,

Dean stopped by the window and peeked through the netting, "I don't think he has any idea what his wife's doing." He said gravely and began pacing again.

Sam dug in his jacket for the book, "Well, I found this hidden in their library." He held it up for his brother to see and Dean sat down on the other bed, "It's ancient. Written by a priest who went dark side. There's a binding spell in here for trapping a reaper." He explained and handed it to him.

Dean flipped through the book, "Must be a hell of a spell."

Buffy handed Sam his coffee and put Dean's on the bedside table as he was going through the book, she sat at the table and sipped at her coffee while the brothers conversed.

"Yeah. You've got to build a black altar, with seriously dark stuff. Bones, human blood. To cross the line like that, that preacher's wife. Black magic, murder. Evil." Sam grimaced.

Dean looked at his brother, "Desperate. Her husband was dying; she'd have done anything to save him. She was using the binding spell to keep the reaper away from Roy."

"Cheating death. Literally." Buffy piped up as she held up her mug to take a drink.

Dean turned his attention to Buffy, "Yeah, but Roy's alive, so why's she still using the spell?"

Sam thought about the news clippings in the book, "Right. To force the reaper to kill people she thinks are immoral."

Dean shook his head, "May God save us from half the people who think they're doing God's work." He sighed as he read through some pages in the books.

Buffy put her mug down, "Guys, we've gotta break that binding spell." She said desperately.

Dean's eyes widened as he looked at a page and he looked up at Sam and pointed at the cross in the picture, "You know, Sue Ann had a Coptic cross like this. And when she dropped it, the reaper backed off."

"So, you think we've gotta find the cross or destroy the altar?" Sam asked.

"Maybe both?" Buffy said as she took some more coffee.

Dean shut the book, "Whatever we do, we better do it soon. Roy's healing Layla tonight."

Buffy downed her coffee and got out of her seat, "Then let's go." She commanded like she used to and grabbed her coat as she left the room.

Dean slowly got up, "Guess we're goin' now." He half joked and followed her out and Sam eventually followed suit.

They sped to the church as fast as they could. There were only three or four cars in the parking lot.

Sam pointed to a car across from them.

"That's Layla's car. She's already here." he stated from the back.

"Yeah." Dean said half-heartedly as he shut off the engine.

"Dean-" Sam started.

Dean looked at his brother in the rear-view mirror, "You know, if Roy would have picked Layla instead of me, she'd be healed right now." He said almost regretfully.

Buffy shook her head, "Dean, don't."

"And if she's not healed tonight, she's gonna die in a couple months." He also said regretfully not looking at anyone.

Buffy sighed and turned in her seat and this time Dean turned his head to her, "What's happening to her is horrible. But, what are you gonna do? Let somebody else die to save her?" she tried to get the audacity of it to sink into his head.

Sam inched on the edge of his seat and tapped his brother on the shoulder, "You said it yourself, Dean. You can't play God."

Dean didn't say anything after that. He just got out the car and wandered towards the tent. There was a small group of people gathered around Roy on his stage. Layla was walking up and onto the stage. Buffy and Sam came up behind him and they all looked inside.

"Where's Sue Ann?" Buffy asked.

Sam thought for a second, "House." And he ran towards Roy's house.

Buffy and Dean chased after Sam but he stopped when they were almost at the house. "Go help Sam find Sue Ann. I'll catch up."

"What are you—?" Buffy was cut off when Dean ran around the front of the house and watched him get chased by the two police officers outside the house. When the coast was clear Buffy came out of sight and walked around to the front of the house to find Sam walking around the other side.

Sam looked around for his brother, "Where's Dean?" he asked as they ran up the steps to the house.

"He's distracting the guards." She replied as they looked for a way in. The front door and the window they used the last time were locked so they had to walk around the house. It didn't seem like there was any way inside.

They both stopped on the side porch, Buffy planted her hands on her hips, "How the hell are we gonna get inside?"

Sam leant against the banister of the porch and a flicker of light caught his eye. Glancing down he spotted the doors that lead to the cellar and there was light coming from inside. Getting her attention he showed the door to Buffy and they both jumped down and landed beside the cellar doors.

Sam held a finger to his lips as he opened one of the doors. Buffy held the other one open and they both went inside one after the other. The entire cellar was covered in candles and it smelt of blood, old and new. Tapping him on the arm Buffy pointed to an alter in the far corner. The entire table was covered in blood, crosses, candles and even bones – even a human skull.

"Oh my God." Buffy cried softly when she spotted the picture in the middle of the alter.

Sam picked up the picture: it was a picture taken from the churches security camera of Dean with a huge X across his face written in blood.

"I gave your brother life, and I can take it away."

They both turned around to see Sue-Ann standing at the steps of the cellar. Without hesitation Sam turned the table upside down. Sue-Anne started back up the stairs and Buffy ran after her but when she reached the top she was hit in the face and fell back down the stairs. Sam ran to Buffy's side and looked up the stairs; Sue-Ann was stood outside looking in with a metal bar in her hand. Before Sam could reach her Sue-Ann had already closed the wooden door and had locked it shut with the pole

Sue-Ann's voice was small when she spoke behind the cellar door, "Sam, can't you see? The Lord chose me to reward the just and punish the wicked. And your brother is wicked. And he deserves to die just as Layla deserves to live. It's God's will. Goodbye, Sam." She said to them then there was no more talking.

Sam continued to beat on the cellar door while Buffy tried to get her breath back and her head stopped bleeding.

"Let me out!" Sam screamed as he repeatedly banged on the door.

Buffy got back to her feet and looked for an alternate escape route. She spotted a tiny window high above her head; she searched for anything that would help her get to it. She saw two old copper pipes running along the ceiling and stopped a foot or two in front of the tiny window. She vaguely remembered trying this once when she was drunk on the beer that turned her into Cave-Buffy. She bent her knees as far as she could then sprang up with all her strength and grabbed hold of the pipes and ran along the pipes like monkey bars. When she was close she swung her legs and hooked them onto the bars and swung out and pushed the window out of the frame. The smashing sound brought Sam's yelling and banging to a stop and looked up at Buffy confused and amazed at her gymnastics.

"Go and help Dean!" He yelled and with a nod Buffy swung again and clutched at the window frame, un-wrapping her legs from the pipes she pushed herself out of the window.

Buffy didn't look back, she left Sam trying to find a way out, she just ran for the tent hoping she wasn't too late and Dean was still alive.

Running as fast as she could Buffy made it to the parking lot. She couldn't see him anywhere.

"Dean?" Screaming out his name she heard an agonizing groan around the other side of the tent.

She darted around the corner and found Dean on his knees, even from the far distance she was she could see the sickly paleness of his skin. She could hear him gasping for breath. When his gasping was shallow she could hear small mumblings from a few feet away from her. Sneakily making her way towards the mumblings, near the entrance of the church, Buffy tapped Sue-Ann on the shoulder.

She turned with a fright.

Buffy smiled.

"Hi." She said happily and ripped the cross necklace from her neck and threw it on the floor. It shattered into pieces and blood poured out of it.

"No!" Sue-Ann screamed and ran over to the broken cross; she looked up at Buffy, "My God! What have you done?" she wailed.

"He's not your God." Buffy spat just before she punched her in the face.

"That's for the pole in the face." She snarled and ran towards Dean

Dean was lying on the floor regaining his breath; his colour was slowly coming back to him. Buffy fell to her knees beside him and smiled.

"Hey," she helped him sit up.

"Well that was close." He groaned as he sat up.

Buffy laughed, "Well look at it this way," she put a hand on his shoulder, "I almost killed you and now I saved you so we're even now." She smiled.

Dean just laughed and nodded, "We're nowhere near even the amount of times I've saved your scrawny ass but-"

Buffy cut him off by planting a slow kiss on his mouth, just for a second or so, when she pulled away she stroked his cheek then got to her feet.

When she helped him up Dean was about to talk but a thud and gasping led their attention to Sue-Ann who was kneeling on the floor, her entire body started to pale, even her hair. Her breathing became shallower and she eventually collapsed to the ground and twitched for a couple of seconds before falling still.

Sam sprinted around the corner to see Buffy and Dean standing near Sue-Ann's dead body. He looked at the body for a second before walking over her and over to his brother. All three headed to the car.

It wasn't until they were getting in the car that Buffy realised it was raining and she was half soaked. Wiping her face with her shirt sleeve it came away bloody, the bitch had done a better job that Buffy thought.

"You okay?" Sam asked when they reached the car.

Dean fiddled with his keys, "A little bit weak." He said faintly.

Sam nodded and patted his brother's shoulder, "Yeah. Alright, come on, we should get going."

Dean unlocked the door; Sam got in the back and Buffy and Dean in the front.

When he turned on the engine he noticed Buffy's bloody sleeve, looking up at her face he eventually saw the blood running down her face.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

It took her a second to realise he was talking to her. She laughed once and put her sleeve over the cut on her forehead, "Yeah I'll be fine, I'll patch it up when I get back to the motel." She replied.

Then with a swift nod Dean put the Impala into drive and drove away before anyone left the church and knew they were there.

The next morning they decided to leave. When they got to the motel Dean fell straight to sleep and Sam stitched up Buffy's forehead. Buffy took a strong painkiller then took the bed. Sam used the couch to sleep on though he didn't sleep much. Early the next morning they started to pack. Buffy was the first to finish even though she had the most stuff and she popped out to get something for breakfast and some more toiletries for herself before they travelled again for god knows how long.

Sam was casually grabbing his shirts and folding them into a ball and stuffing them into his duffel. He looked at his brother who was just sat on his bed looking sad as he folded the same shirt three times.

"What is it?" the younger brother asked as he put another rolled up sweater into his duffel.

Dean looked up at his brother and shrugged, "Nothing."

Sam put his hands on his hips, he was hanging around Buffy for far too long, "What is it?" he asked again this time with a faint smile.

Dean looked over at one of the paintings on the wall, "We did the right thing here, didn't we?" he asked miserably.

"Of course we did."

Dean looked back down at his folded shirt, "Didn't feel like it." He said so quietly.

There was a small knock at the door. Dean looked concerned. "I got it." Sam said and headed towards the door. When he opened it Layla was stood there. "Hey, Layla. Come on in." Sam said politely and gestured her to come inside. She greeted them both as she entered.

Seeing her at the door Dean put his shirt on his bed and stood up.

"How'd you know we were here?" Dean asked.

She pointed behind her to Sam, "Um, Sam called. He said you wanted to say goodbye."

Dean looked over at his brother who had a smile on his face again, "I'm gonna grab a soda." He said and then left the room.

Layla looked around at the duffels on the beds, "So, um, where are you going?"

Dean took a moment then shrugged, "Don't know yet. Our work kind of takes us all over." He said vaguely.

Layla didn't say anything for a while, she looked hesitant to say what was on her mind but eventually she said, "You know, I went back to see Roy."

"What happened?" Dean asked coolly.

She shook her head, "Nothing." She sat down on the bed and Dean sat beside her, "I mean, he laid his hand on my forehead, but nothing happened." She explained miserably.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry it didn't work."

Layla frowned, "And Sue Ann. She's dead, you know? Stroke."

Dean nodded, "Yeah, I heard. I mean, Roy's a good man. He doesn't deserve what's happened." He thought out loud. They sat in silence for a minute. "It must be rough. To believe in something so much, and have it disappoint you like that."

Layla just smiled, "You want to hear something weird?"

"Hm?" Dean turned to look at her.

Layla was nodding, "I'm okay. Really. I guess, if you're gonna have faith, you can't just have it when the miracles happen. You have to have it when they don't."

"So, what now?"

Layla shrugged, "God works in mysterious ways." She smiled and stroked his face, "Goodbye, Dean." Layla stood up to leave but Dean stopped her just before she had to door open.

"Hey." Dean was standing when she turned back around, he cleared his throat before talking, "Uh, you know, I'm not much of the prayin' type. But I'm gonna pray for you." He told her.

Layla was close to tears with a smile on her face, "Well. There's a miracle right there." She said with a smile and then left the room.

When she shut the door and turned to leave the hallway she was surprised to see Buffy stood a few feet away with a couple of paper bags of groceries.

"Hi." Buffy said with surprise.

Layla smiled, "Hey. I just wanted to say goodbye to Dean." She explained.

Buffy nodded, "Of course." She agreed. When Layla walked past her she was almost down the hallway when Buffy called her back. She met Layla halfway. "Listen, I want to apologise for my behaviour the other day. I just got you mixed up with another girl-"

"Darla?" Layla laughed.

Buffy nodded with an apologetic look on her face, "Yeah, I'm sorry about that. You both look so similar and I haven't seen her in years and I… you know… got my wires crossed. I'm sorry."

Layla nodded, "its okay." She said sweetly, "I can understand why you said what you said. Dean, he's very special."

Buffy nodded with a little smile, "Yeah he is."

Then Layla's smile changed and she popped her hip, "I can see why you like him. He reminds me of Angel too." Her voice was entirely different. She sounded more confident.

Buffy looked up at her like a deer in the headlights, "Darla." She stated this time. Her gut was right.

Layla –Darla – smiled, "I'll tell Angel you said Hello" she grinned and practically cackled as she sauntered down the rest of the hallway and around the corner.

It was Darla!

But how was she human?

Buffy dropped her bags and chased after her. She almost fell into Sam outside she was running that fast.

"Whoa! Buffy, what's the rush?" he laughed as she almost fell to the floor when she banged into him.

"Where's Darla! I mean Layla! Did you see where she went?" Buffy asked hastily.

Sam nodded, "Yeah she just got in her mom's car and drove off. Did you need her for something?"

Buffy groaned and collapsed to the floor. "No. It's too late. She's gone."

She'd be on her way to L.A now to torture Angel the same way she'd just toyed with Buffy.

She had to tell him Darla was on her way and to stop her before anyone got hurt.


	10. Route 666

I wrote this chapter purely to see the dynamics of Buffy and Dean when they meet an ex girlfriend of his... but someone else also shows up unexpectedly ;)

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Eric Kripke owns Supernatural and it's scripts and Joss Wheedon owns Buffy. This was made for fun.

I used the TwizTv script for Supernatural Season 1, Episode 13 "Route 666"

I would like to thank LolaAnn for helping me with the Americanised English for the story to try and keep it as authentic as possible... though maybe a few Britishisms will still pop up every now and again haha!

* * *

She couldn't believe Darla had been right under her nose the entire time and she hadn't trusted her instincts. That was the last time she'd doubt her gut instincts. Buffy just sat in the gravel parking lot and stared out at the highway and wondered where the hell Darla was.

_I'll tell Angel you said Hello._

Angel.

Buffy scrambled back to her feet and Sam stared at her, waiting for an answer to her craziness. "We have to go to L.A." she said quickly as she ran back inside the motel, leaving Sam outside.

She left the bags in the hallway where she'd dropped them and almost knocked down the door as she opened it, "We have to go to L.A." she said again to Dean who was finally packing his clothes.

Dean turned with a surprised look on his face and saw her clinging to the door knob nearly buzzing.

"What?" he said with a lift of his left brow, something he did whenever he was confused.

Buffy let go of the door. It had started to close when Sam came inside with the bags she'd dropped outside. Buffy moved further into the room and took hold of Dean's wrists. "We have to go to L.A." she said slowly.

Closing the door behind him and placing the bags on the kitchen counter, Sam stood behind Buffy and he and Dean shared a quizzical look.

"Why?" Dean asked.

_Because my ex vampire boyfriend is going to be killed by a should-be-dead-vampire who's been pretending to be a sick girl._

"Because… you have to trust me." Dean wouldn't understand why she had to go and so she couldn't say.

Dean scoffed, shook her hold off, and picked up a shirt from his bed and started to fold, "You're gonna have to give me a little more than that, Buffy."

Buffy put her hands together and fiddled with her fingers, shuffling on her feet nervously. "You just have to trust me, okay?" she said as she put her hands in the back pockets of her jeans, then took them back out and started to pace in a little line. "I can't tell you why just… I have a feeling one of my friends is in danger," she explained feebly stopping in front of Dean.

Dean threw another shirt he was holding into the duffel – not bothering to fold anymore - and faced her fully, "Sorry but we're not going anywhere till you tell me why."

Buffy felt her knees give way and she sank onto Dean's bed. "I can't. You either won't understand, or you'll hate me, or you won't believe me, or even all three," she said dejectedly, looking down at her hands in her lap.

"What?" Dean said more than asked.

When there was a minute or so of silence Dean sighed and knelt down beside Buffy and took her hands in his, "Buffy look at me." He didn't speak until she looked at his face, "You can trust us. Whatever you say, we will believe you."

Buffy nodded and took a breath before she spoke, "Layla's a vampire."

Dean looked like he just got slapped in the face and Sam almost fell on his ass. Buffy got to her feet and stood between the two brothers who both looked at her; Sam was confused and surprised whereas Dean looked confused and angry again.

Dean got to his feet and scowled at her. "Not this Layla shit again," he growled and then turned away.

Buffy grabbed his arm, "Just listen to me!-"

Dean shoved her off of him, "No! I won't listen to this Layla crap. A vampire? Seriously, you expect me to believe your lies?" he yelled in her face.

Buffy moved between him and the bed so that he had to look at her. "She was a vampire," she said more calmly.

"What do you mean 'was'?" Sam asked, sitting on his bed next to Dean's before he fell over from information overload.

Buffy decided it would be easier to explain to Sam, he'd think more rationally than defensively. She squeezed past Dean and began pacing the room as she spoke, "Layla's real name is Darla. I met her when I was sixteen back in Sunnydale. She was turning some of the students into vampires and I had to stop her."

"You killed her?" Sam asked.

Buffy shook her head, "No. Angel did."

Dean rolled his eyes as he sat on the bed, "An Angel killed her?"

Buffy stopped and crossed her arms defensively, "No. My ex-boyfriend, Angel."

Dean almost laughed, "You went out with a guy named Angel?"

Glaring at Dean she started to pace again, "Anyway. I watched Angel stake her. I saw her turn to dust. And now – what seven years later – this girl turns up and looks exactly like her, same mannerisms, same voice, same everything, and I'm just supposed to think she's some kind of doppelganger?"

Sam shrugged, "It could happen. We do live in the world of the weird." He said this more to Dean, to get him to think rationally.

Buffy turned her attention to Sam, "Well I live in the world where people come back from the dead. I have on more than one occasion." She waved off their looks and carried on, "I'll explain another time. That's why I threatened her. She was acting so sweet and innocent but my gut just knew she wasn't who she said she was." She saw Dean was about to talk so she jumped in, "My gut has never proven me wrong before." She sat down at the kitchen table. "And so, because neither of you two believed me, I started to doubt myself and so just now, I apologised to her and she… changed." She looked Dean straight in the eyes, "She talked about Angel. It's Darla. We have to go to L.A to warn him that she's back." She sank into the chair and waited for them to say something.

There was a very long silence.

"But… she's human," Sam stated. "Her being out in the sunlight was proof enough. How is that possible if she was a vampire?"

Buffy shrugged, "I honestly don't know. I mean, someone must have brought her back with some kind of spell and she came back human?"

Sam nodded once, "Makes sense."

Dean shot to his feet and paced the room, "None of this makes any sense. Why pretend she doesn't know you? Why was she looking for a healer?"

"You don't know Darla; she was very big on playing games. Playing people against each other."

Dean turned and gave her a look that said he understood the hidden message, Darla had meant for her to tell Dean about Buffy threatening her, so there would be a rift between them.

"As for finding Roy," she continued, "I have no idea why she would come here." She rested her hands on her knees and leaned forward and looked between the two boys, "She's going after Angel. I have to go to L.A to warn him."

"Can't you just call him?" Sam asked. "It'll take us days to get to L.A."

Buffy almost laughed, "As far as I know Angel still thinks I'm dead. I can't just call him and go: _Oh hey Angel, remember me, you're dead ex? Yeah I'm not really dead, haven't been for months. Anyway I'm just warning you that a vampire you killed seven years ago is back from the dead and out for your blood,_" she said sarcastically, "Yeah cause that would end well. I have to see him."

Sam nodded, "Okay… Dean?"

Dean was leaning against the wall looking at Buffy with angst. He wanted to believe her, but… Layla, a vampire? Yet, Buffy hadn't lied to him in the time that he'd known her, so why not trust her? Buffy and Sam were watching him eagerly. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "I guess we're goin' to L.A." he said as he raised his hands and threw them back at his sides.

Buffy smiled and got to her feet. Sam smiled and grabbed his duffel to take to the car. Dean closed the space between him and Buffy and pointed a finger at her, "You better be right about this."

"My gut's never been wrong yet," she said with a faint smile as she grabbed her duffels and took them and the grocery bags to the car.

Dean threw in the last of his clothes, picked up his dad's journal, put on his jacket, and followed them out to the car.

Picking up breakfast along the way, they headed out on the twenty-one hour car ride down to Los Angeles. They got as far as Colorado when they were informed that the road they needed was under construction, so they had to double back and find another route. When they stopped for gas, Sam pulled out the map in the glove box to find an alternate route. Buffy paid for the gas and bought a couple of magazines for the ride. When she came out, Dean was on his phone and Sam looked up at her, pointing at a spot on the map.

"Okay, I think I found a way we can bypass that construction, just east of here. We might even make L.A. faster than we thought," Sam said proudly.

Buffy threw the magazines into the backseat and chewed on one of the chewy candy bars, "Well that's good. You reckon we'll make it before dawn?" she asked through a mouthful of strawberry candy.

Dean hung up his cell with a surprised expression on his face. "Yeah," he muttered. He started walking back around to the driver's side. "Problem is we're not going to L.A."

Buffy almost choked on her candy.

Sam was stunned, "We what?"

Buffy moved around to Dean's side of the car, "What? You promised me-"

Dean was looking at his phone as he went around the car, "Just got a call from, uh, an old friend. Her father was killed last night; she thinks it might be our kind of thing," he said to Sam.

"What?" Sam asked.

Dean nodded, "Yeah. Believe me; she never would've called, never, if she didn't need us," he said to Sam – ignoring Buffy's looks beside him – as he got inside the car, "Come on, you two comin' or what?"

Confused, Sam got inside the car and Buffy moved in front of the car so he wouldn't drive off.

"Get out of the car," she said.

Dean popped his head out the window, "What the hell are you doing?" he yelled over the engine.

Buffy grabbed hold of the car and scowled, "Get out of the car before I wreck the bumper! Now!"

Rolling his eyes, Dean cut the engine and got out of the car, "What're you doin'? Get in the car."

Buffy crossed her arms, "We're not going to L.A?"

Dean shook his head, "No. We're not. Believe me when I say - this girl wouldn't call unless it was urgent."

Buffy stamped her foot, "But this is urgent!" she screamed.

"No, Buffy yours is just a hunch, this one is an actual job. Now we're goin' to Missouri and if you don't like that, feel free to walk the rest of the way to L.A." Dean yelled back, throwing his arm out onto the main road going to L.A. Grabbing her upper arms, he forced her to look at him, "Look, just come to Missouri and we'll save the day there, then we'll go to L.A."

Buffy shook him off and walked back to the car. When she opened the door to the back she turned to Dean, "I'm only coming with you because I don't want to be stranded in the middle of nowhere with no sense of direction," she stated bitterly then got into the back.

There was at least half an hour of hardly any conversation, just Dean explaining what the phone call was about. Now, only Dean's rock tapes filled the car. The entire atmosphere was ice cold.

Sam decided to break the tension by asking something he'd been dying to ask since he got in the car, turning down the radio, he asked: "By old friend, you mean….?"

Dean concentrated on the road. "A friend that's not new," he said vaguely.

When Sam chuckled, Buffy rolled her eyes and tried to read her magazine. "Yeah, thanks," the younger brother laughed.

Buffy looked up from her magazine, "So what's her name?" she asked venomously.

"Cassie." Dean told her icily and Buffy glared before going back to her mag.

Sam crossed his arms and smiled at his brother. "You never mentioned her," he stated.

Dean looked at Sam shiftily, "Didn't I?" he asked hesitantly.

"No," Sam answered.

"Yeah, we went out," Dean said casually. He took a quick glance at Buffy, but she seemed to be engrossed in her magazine. Actually she wasn't even reading it; she was trying her hardest not to get jealous over some girl she'd never even met.

Sam looked at him in disbelief, "You mean you dated someone? For more than one night?"

Dean looked at him confused, "Am I speakin' a language you're not getting here?" When Sam laughed he explained how he met her, "Yeah, Dad and I were workin' a job in Athens, Ohio, she was finishing up college, and we went out for a couple weeks."

Sam grinned. _"And?"_ He loved watching Dean squirm.

Dean glanced at Buffy in the back and shook his head. She didn't need to hear all the gory details. Sometimes it might seem like he didn't, but he did care about her feelings.

"Look, it's terrible about her dad, but it kind of sounds like a standard car accident. I'm not seeing how it fits with what we do." Sam then thought for a second, "Which, by the way, how does she know what we do?"

Dean didn't say anything. The look on his face was enough.

Sam stared at him in disbelief, "You told her. You told her? The secret?" Sam started waving his hands about and glaring at his brother, "Our big family rule number one, we do what we do, and we shut up about it. For a year and a half I do nothing but lie to Jessica, and you go out with this chick in Ohio a couple of times and you tell her everything?" he asked, obviously pissed off.

Dean didn't respond. He kept his eyes on the road.

"Dean!" Sam yelled wanting an answer.

"Yeah. Looks like it." Dean agreed.

Sam just shook his head and didn't say anything.

After a second, Buffy's hand came out and she waved a bag of sweets at Sam.

He shook his head, but Dean lifted a hand to take a piece and Buffy smacked his hand.

"Sorry, I don't have enough for you," she said sweetly and pulled the bag away.

Dean sighed and when he heard Buffy snorting he glared at her in the rear view mirror, "You're so childish you know that?"

Buffy just nodded and ate some of the sweets just to piss him off.

The rest of the journey was in silence.

When they got to Missouri, Dean told them that they were meeting Cassie at her work place, which happened to be the local Newspaper office. She was a reporter. Great. They parked outside the newsroom and they got out.

"Why don't you guys wait here?" Dean said as he shut his door.

Buffy and Sam shared a look, then shook their heads. "No way I wanna meet the woman that broke your code," Sam stated.

Buffy slammed her door shut, "And I want to meet the woman who takes precedence over our original mission," she said sweetly and shoved past him.

Dean sighed, "Is she ever going to let this go?"

Sam shook his head. "No. Put yourself in her shoes man," Sam said seriously and left to catch up with Buffy.

Dean locked the Impala and went inside.

His brother and Buffy were waiting just inside the entrance, they had no idea where they were going. Dean pointed to the elevator. "Third floor," he said as they got in the elevator and pressed the appropriate button.

When they got to the third floor, Buffy and Sam trailed behind Dean as he seemed to know where he was going. He'd clearly come to the building more than once. Dean led them through a set of double doors to a small news room. He stopped halfway and was staring at two African-American's talking to an old Caucasian man. When the Caucasian walked away, the African-American man walked away and the female turned and seemed to catch her breath when she saw the three of them.

Cassie didn't look like the usual woman Dean went out with: The woman had a huge mound of dark, loose curls that fell to her shoulders; her skin was dark and so flawless that she didn't even have to wear makeup. She was small like Buffy, very petite, and looked cute but professional in a white t-shirt underneath a brown blazer and a light blue, knee-length, denim skirt complete with brown boots and a brown belt around her tiny waist. Buffy looked at her own outfit of a white t-shirt under an open, blue, checked shirt, dark jeans, and her favourite thick heeled boots. The boys' choices in clothing was starting to rub off on her; she'd have to keep her eye on that.

"Dean," Cassie said as she walked over to them, seemingly in disbelief that he was actually there.

Dean gave her a little smile. "Hey, Cassie," he said quietly.

Cassie stopped in front of him and she and Dean just stared at each other in an awkward silence not knowing what to say. Sam smiled, knowing there was some history between the couple and Buffy just rolled her eyes, also knowing there was more to their story than Dean shared.

Dean eventually cleared his throat and pointed behind him at the pair. "This is my brother, Sam. And that's Buffy."

Cassie smiled at the pair and they both smiled back, though Buffy's was entirely fake and it turned back into a grimace when Cassie's attention went back to Dean.

"I'm sorry about your dad," Dean apologised.

Cassie looked away for a second. "Yeah. Me, too," she said sadly, before looking back at Dean. They continued to stare at each other.

Buffy sighed and started to look at her nails; Sam dug his hands in his jacket pockets and was trying to look anywhere but at the pair. Eventually one of the reporters came into view behind Cassie, "Hey Cas! I need you to look this over for me," he bellowed a little angrily.

Cassie shook her head and turned her head, "I'll be right there." She turned back around and gave Dean another longing look. "I've got to finish up here and I'll be a while, so could you meet me at my Mom's in say two hours?" she asked.

Dean nodded. "Yeah sure. I'll see you later," he said slowly as he turned and headed out of the room.

Sam said goodbye to Cassie, whereas Buffy just left and followed Dean back to the car.

To pass the time, they found the nearest motel and checked in, Sam and Dean sharing one room and Buffy finally getting her own after so long. She'd handled enough testosterone to last her a lifetime. She was glad to have some space to herself. When the boys were unpacked, they decided they were going to the local diner to eat. They knocked on Buffy's door, which was a couple rooms down, so they could ask her to join them. When Buffy opened the door, they found her dressed in her sweats and she'd moved all the furniture to make room for the punching bag she'd put together in the middle of the room.

"No thanks guys, I'm not hungry. I'm just gonna stay in and work on some pent up Slayer energy." Code for: You're stressing me out and it's either the punching bag or your face.

"Okay, we'll call you when we're heading over to Cassie's and we'll pick you up," Dean said as he walked away.

When she was alone, she stood in front of the punching bag and shut her eyes. She drowned out all of the noise around her like Giles taught her. The incessant sound of the cars on the busy road across the street, the buzzing of the light in her room, the clicking sound of the air conditioning turning on - drowning it all out, Buffy got into her "Zone" while she worked out. She worked on some punching then moved to her kicks, working on some fast close contact kicks, her roundhouse kicks, and after an hour she took down the punching bag and worked on some flips. Her back still ached sometimes from the Wendigo and the times she'd been thrown into glass or just hard surfaces, so she did some flips and crab poses to stretch her back muscles. Getting out a couple of weapons, she put the punching bag back up and worked on some close contact weapon fighting. She trained with one knife, then two, then a long knife that looked like half a sword, then she worked with an actual sword – the same one she used to kill Angel – then she went back to her punches.

Feeling fulfilled with her training, Buffy put everything away and ran herself a bath. She hadn't had one in so long that she was almost excited for it. She peeled herself out of her sweaty workout clothes and gingerly stepped into the scorching hot tub. The smell of jasmine that filled her nose made her relax instantly and the feel of the scented bubbles grazing along her skin made Buffy smile at the comfort.

She lay there with her eyes closed for a good ten minutes without moving, just enjoying the warmth of the water on her skin. When the water started to cool, Buffy finally started washing, starting with her hair. When her hair was clean, she moved to the rest of her body and when she was clean and had shaved herself smooth, she lay in the bath with her eyes closed and just relaxed. But the thought of Darla on her way to Angel caused Buffy to get out.

She had to call him, at least to tell him she was alive and okay, and also about Darla. Even if she couldn't go see him, she had to tell him. She drained the bath out and washed away the scum the bubbles left behind, then dried her body and hair and changed. When she pulled a pair of jeans out of her duffel, her mind instantly went to Cassie and her cute professional look and how casually flawless she looked with only a little effort put into it. Throwing her jeans to one side, Buffy dug further into her duffel and pulled out her red leather trousers. It felt like slipping into a second skin, they fit snugly around her thighs and bottom, and the leather stopped right at her waist. She changed her top to a short, black, sleeveless blouse. The cut of the top went straight over her chest so only the tops of her shoulders were visible and it was cut short just above the midriff, so Buffy tied a silver chain around her waist, which sat snuggly around her slightly tanned stomach. Instead of her usual favourite boots, she opted for a pair of short ankle-boots with a thinner heal. She kept her makeup natural, but put more colour on her lips so they were now much pinker. Her hair she also kept plain, she let it dry to her natural thick waves. Just as a precaution, she stuffed two knives in the sides of her boots.

When she was dressed, she sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the phone. She dialled Angel's number. After the third ring someone answered, "Angel Investigations. Wesley speaking."

Buffy's voice got stuck in her throat at the familiar sound of the English accent.

"Hello?" Wesley said on the other end.

"Hello," Buffy said and closed her eyes.

"Can I help you miss?"

Buffy blinked. He didn't recognise her voice?

"Um... I was wondering if I could speak to Angel?" she asked hesitantly.

"What is this regarding Madam?"

She sighed. "Darla is coming to L.A to kill him, now put Angel on the God damned phone," she spat. She was done for now, Wesley would definitely recognise her voice.

There was a long silence then some chatter and then the line went silent.

"Hello?" Buffy said into the phone.

"Hello?"

Buffy almost cried at the sound of his voice. "Angel…" she sobbed happily.

"How do you know a vampire named Darla? Are you not aware that she's been dead for seven years?" Angel asked coldly.

He didn't recognise her voice either.

"Angel it's me…" she sighed into the phone, "Buffy."

He didn't say anything for a few minutes. "You're dead," he told her distantly.

She shook her head, though he couldn't see, "I'm not. Willow brought me back."

"Willow never called me-"

"She doesn't know… none of them do. Angel you're in danger."

"What do you mean they don't know? Where are you?" He asked a little panicked.

She sighed, "That's not important. Angel, Darla is back. I don't know how, but she is and she's on her way to you. You have to stop her before she becomes a vampire again. I tried to tell you in person, but… something came up."

"Where are you?" he asked more sternly.

"That doesn't matter, all that matters is that you stop Darla," she said back just as sternly. "Angel, please," she groaned.

There was a pause, "Okay." She was about to say goodbye when Angel spoke again, "Buffy, are you okay?"

She smiled and she felt a tear fall down her cheek, "Yeah... I'm doing okay." Gathering her voice she spoke seriously, "Can you do me a favour?"

"Anything for you."

"Can you not tell anyone I called? I don't want anyone to know I'm alive." The words were hard to get out but as soon as she spoke them, she felt a weight off her shoulders.

"You're not in Sunnydale are you?" He wanted confirmation of his guess more than an actual answer to his question.

"No, I'm not. Could you just not tell Wesley or Cordy or Willow or Giles or anyone? Please."

There was another pause, "Sure."

There was a knock at the door and Dean and Sam entered, "Hey, you ready?" Sam asked. Dean was too busy looking at Buffy's choice of clothing to say anything.

"Who's there with you?" Angel asked defensively. She forgot how good his hearing was.

Buffy got up from the bed, "Nobody. I've gotta go."

"Buffy-"

"Goodbye," she said softly and then hung up the phone.

When she composed herself, she turned and saw them staring at her, Sam was confused and Dean was surprised.

"I called Angel," she explained, "I figured we'd be here for a while, so I called to give him a heads up."

Sam sighed, "You okay?"

She nodded once, "It was hard but… I'll be fine. Let's go," she said as she picked up her long black leather jacket from her bed, grabbed her room key, and walked out.

It was dark when Buffy left her room. She had no idea how long she'd trained for, how long her bath was, or how long her phone call was, all she could think of was how much she missed Angel right now. She just wanted a hug from him, she always felt better with his arms wrapped around her.

Cassie's mother's home was outside of the town. It sat by itself surrounded by fields, at one point it was probably a farm. Cassie greeted them when they arrived and all three sat in the living room while Cassie went to the kitchen. They all sat on the three-seated sofa while they waited for Cassie to come back. Buffy sat between the brothers and she could see Dean looking at her with a raised brow.

When Buffy looked at him, he grinned. "You look nice," he said dryly. When she only smiled sarcastically he spoke again, "Thinking of going out afterwards?"

Buffy turned to him with a smile, "You know what, I think I might. It might do me some good to talk to someone that knows stuff other than classic rock and how to dismantle a car," she said in a mock-happy tone.

Cassie came back before anyone could say anything else; she carried in a tray with a tea pot, a sugar pot, and four cups. She carried it over to the table beside them. "My mother's in pretty bad shape. I've been staying with her. I wish she would walk by herself; she's been so nervous and frightened. She was worried about Dad," she told them as she poured tea into the cups.

"Why?" Dean asked.

Cassie turned her head to look at him before speaking, "He was scared." She went back to pouring tea into the next cup, "He was seeing things."

"Like what?" Buffy asked, purely so it looked like she was involved in the whole thing.

"He swore he saw an awful-looking black truck following him." Cassie sighed, unable to believe it herself.

"A truck? Who was the driver?" Sam queried.

Cassie shook her head, "He didn't talk about a driver." She turned with two cups in her hand, "Just the truck." She handed Dean and Buffy their teas and they both thanked her. "He said it would appear and disappear," Cassie went on as she retrieved the last cup for Sam, "And in the accident, Dad's truck was dented. Like it had been slammed into, by something big." She finished, handing Sam his cup and sitting in the chair across from them.

"Thanks. Now, you're sure this dent wasn't there before?" Sam asked.

Cassie shook her head, "He sold cars. Always drove a new one. I mean, there wasn't a scratch on that thing," she began. (Dean put his cup down – he wasn't much of a tea drinker) "It had rained hard that night, there was mud everywhere. There was a distinct set of muddy tracks from Dad's car, leading right… to the edge." Cassie had to stop to compose herself, "Where he went over." She started to cry, "One set of tracks—his." She said looking straight at Dean.

Sam and Buffy both took a sip of their tea while Dean asked, "And the first person killed was a friend of your father's?"

"Best friend. Clayton Solmes. They owned the car dealership together." She shook her head, "Same thing. Dent, no tracks. And the cops said exactly what they said about Dad—he lost control of his car." She scoffed at the last part.

"Do you know any reason why your father and his partner might be targets?" Buffy spoke.

Cassie looked at Buffy with sad eyes, "No."

"And you think this vanishing truck ran him off the road?" Sam asked with a little smile.

Cassie looked embarrassed, "Oh, when you say it aloud like that." She paused for a second and looked at all three, stopping at Dean, "Listen, I'm a little skeptical about this….ghost stuff, or whatever it is you guys are into."

Dean started to chuckle. "Skeptical. Yeah, if I remember, I think you said it was nuts," He said sternly with his cocky smile.

The penny slowly started to drop for Buffy and Sam about their history.

Cassie looked at him sadly, "That was then."

Dean just looked at her coldly, "Mm." he nodded.

Sam gave Cassie a sympathetic look whereas Buffy was looking on with raised brows.

Cassie took a breath before replying, "I just know that I can't explain what happened up there, so I called you," she said calmly.

Before anyone could say anything the front door opened and in walked Cassie's mother. Her mother was a tall, skinny, Caucasian woman with thick red hair. Cassie shot out of her seat and went to her mother and the other three stood up out of their seats. "Mom! Where have you been, I was so—"

Her mother looked surprised to see visitors. "Oh. I had no idea you'd invited friends over," she said nervously.

Cassie pointed at the three strangers in the living room, "Uh, Mom, this is Dean, a friend of mine from….college." Dean seemed a little annoyed by her referral of him but he didn't say anything he just nodded a hello to her mother instead, "And his brother, Sam and their friend Buffy." Sam nodded a hello and Buffy waved.

Cassie's mother nodded a hello and patted her daughters shoulder, "Well, uh, I won't interrupt you." Taking off her bag she started to leave.

"Mrs Robinson." She stopped and turned to Dean, "We're sorry for your loss. And we'd like to talk to you for a minute, if you don't mind."

Her expression turned cold at Dean's request. "I'm really not up to that just now," she stated and then walked away.

When she was gone, Cassie and the others all just looked at each other, slightly disappointed. Dean looked around the room then shifted uncomfortably, "Well I guess we've covered everything tonight. We should get back to the motel and start researching this… Goodnight Cassie," Dean said and showed himself out.

Both Buffy and Sam looked at Cassie and said their goodbyes and followed him out. Dean was waiting by the Impala when Buffy and Sam caught up with him.

"So what are we going to do now? We have no clue what thing is, if it's even a thing. We have nothing to go on Dean," Sam started saying when he reached his brother.

There was a long pause where none of them knew what to do next, so Buffy took in a breath, "I don't know about you guys but I could do with a beer."

Dean smiled and pointed at her. "Great minds," was all he said as he got in the car.

Sam didn't say anything and got in the front and Buffy went and sat in the back.

They arrived at the only bar in town a few minutes later. As she made her way to the building, Buffy recognised a few of the men from the newsroom she was in earlier. Inside, there were also young people, some younger than her, all dressed up like they were on a first date, as well as a few older people sitting at the bar. It really was the only bar in town.

Sam and Dean got the beers and Buffy snagged the only table left. Close to the dance floor, good enough for her.

"So what do you guys think this thing might be?" Sam asked when they came back with a tray of beers.

Dean just shrugged and Buffy laughed, "You honestly don't think she's serious?" When they looked at her with slightly raised brows she sighed, "Guys we have nothing to go on except a grieving child saying her dead father was talking about a truck following him. It was probably just a pissed off customer that thought he was ripped off or something," she explained, then drank from the beer bottle in her hand.

There was a time when she would have turned her nose up at a beer, but now she had acquired a taste for it.

Dean shifted on his stool, "Look, there is no way Cassie would have called if she thought his was a natural death," he growled defensively.

Buffy swallowed, "Please. Her father just died. She clearly just wanted to see you. That's what I did when my mother died; I called Angel."

"Well Cassie's not like you," Dean spat. He left his seat and moved over to the pool tables.

Buffy just watched him leave, feeling startled.

"He didn't mean it." Sam started; Buffy held up her hand for him not to talk, "I mean, I don't think he meant it that way. You're both very different," he said quickly.

Buffy looked at him and lowered her hand; she didn't say anything and just drank her beer.

"Sammy!" Dean yelled over the music and gestured him to come over.

Sam looked at Buffy gravely and she just smiled a little, "Go. I'll be fine."

Buffy watched Sam leave the table and go over to his brother who was setting up a hustle. She watched them for a while as they set up their marks and knocked them down. They did this to three or four drunken college kids and a few older guys, who were too over-confident and wanted to prove how good they were.

Someone sat in the empty chair across from her, seeing him out the corner of her eye she rolled them. Every time she came out, someone had to make a pass. "Look if you've come to make a pass you can forget it," she spoke as she turned her head to look at the man in Dean's seat. Her mouth hung open and her eyes went wide when she saw Angel sitting there.

"Buffy." Angel said softly, his smile growing.

"Angel." Buffy sounded more startled.

He took her hand, "You're alive."

"How did you find me?" she asked. She glanced at Sam and Dean, but they were too busy playing pool at this point.

Angel's chuckle sent a shiver down her spine and she had to shut her eyes, "Buffy, I'm a Private Investigator, it's my job to find people."

She looked back at him with a frown, "How'd you get here so fast?"

He smiled again. In Buffy's eyes he didn't look any different since the first time she saw him seven years ago. His eyes were so dark she always got lost in them, so full of history she only dreamt of knowing. His lips she remembered perfectly. His hair was styled more professionally now. His dress sense was also more professional: dark jeans, dark blue shirt, and his long jacket she always saw him wearing. "I'm also a vampire remember."

Vampire.

Buffy clutched his hands, "Angel you can't be here."

His brows furrowed, "What? Why?" when Buffy glanced to her left Angel looked over at the two guys she was looking at, when he turned back he said, "Are you here with those two?"

She nodded, "Angel you can't be here. They don't know you're a vampire."

"Who are they?"

"Sam and Dean Winchester." She said as she looked over at them again. They were currently taking money from some very pissed off business men.

"The hunters?" he asked a little surprised.

Buffy whipped her head towards her ex, "You know them?"

Angel shrugged, "I know of them. Well, their father actually. He did a job in L.A a couple years ago. Completely wiped out a vamp nest I'd been looking for. Is he here?" Angel started to look nervous.

She shook her head, "No. He's missing."

"How did you end up with them?"

Buffy sighed and was about to tell him how it happened when she saw Sam and Dean walking over.

"Angel seriously, they don't know you're a vampire. I didn't tell them. They'll kill you if they find out," she said quickly then smiled as Sam and Dean came up to their table both standing on either side of Angel.

"Buffy, you okay?" Sam asked.

Dean pointed to Angel with his head, "Who's this?"

Angel turned in his seat and mirrored Dean's grave expression, "I'm Angel," he said holding out his hand.

Dean took his hand and shook it curiously, "The ex?"

"I thought you said Angel was in L.A?" Sam asked Buffy.

She opened her mouth, but Angel got out of his seat and turned to Sam, "I just happened to be close by when she called. So I thought I'd make a detour before heading back to see her." He spoke politely and shook Sam's hand.

"What do you do for a living, Angel?" Dean asked as he sat back in his seat and gave Buffy a not very happy look.

Angel moved around the table to stand beside Buffy, "I'm a Private Investigator."

Dean chuckled. "Of course you are," he mumbled under his breath.

"I don't need to ask you. I've heard all about what you do," Angel said with a light laugh in his voice.

Dean started to say something when Angel turned and caught Buffy's attention. "Listen I've got to go, but I'd like to talk to you later if you can get away for a while." He handed Buffy a card, it was the address to another motel only a couple miles out of Missouri. "You look beautiful." He smiled at her and kissed her on the cheek before nodding a goodbye and leaving their table and vanishing into the crowd.

Buffy sat there stunned that he'd showed up, with his card still in her hand.

Dean laughed, "So that's Angel? Jeez the guy's so…"

Buffy snapped her head up, "So what?"

He shrugged, "So pensive, and cocky, and strutting around like he owns the joint. I mean, who does that?" Dean was almost yelling as he drank some of his beer.

Sam scoffed, "Yeah I wonder." He mocked.

Buffy got out of her seat and picked up her jacket. "I gotta go. I'll meet you back at the motel later," she said as she moved around the table and vanished into the crowd.

Dean just shook his head and put his beer to his mouth. He could see Sam smiling out the corner of his eye. "What?"

Sam shrugged, "Nothing. Didn't Angel remind you of anyone?" he asked with a smile.

Dean nodded, "Yeah he reminded me of a dick."

Sam just crossed his arms and smiled at his brother, "Yeah, me too," he said with a hint of laughter.

Buffy ran out of the bar hoping she'd catch him before he vanished.

"Angel?" she yelled into the night but nobody answered her.

She called a cab and when it arrived she headed to his motel. If Angel knew her at all, he'd know she'd be on her way. When she reached the motel, which was a lot nicer than the one she was currently staying in, she found Angel's room and knocked. Angel answered the door with a smile on his face. "I knew you'd come tonight," he said as he held the door open and gestured her to come inside.

"Well you left pretty quickly," Buffy said as she went inside. Angels room was ten times better than hers, ten times pricier too she imagined, "Plus, you knew I'd come tonight." she added, taking off her jacket and putting it on the bottom of the bed.

Angel shut the door when she entered, but stood there with his hand on the handle, his face hardened. "You've got some explaining to do," he said coldly.

Buffy sat on the edge of the bed and told Angel everything: from what happened the night she killed Glory, to how she jumped into the portal to close it, waking months later in her coffin and crawling out, meeting Sam and Dean who saved her that night, seeing how happy her friends and Dawn looked and knowing they were safer without the Slayer around – she who draws danger to her – and leaving with them to help them on their journey.

"They've been doing this all their life Angel, they're strong, and they can look after themselves." Buffy explained, Angel was sat on the bed beside her, his hand rubbing small circles on her back knowing it calmed her down, She turned to him, "I don't have to watch out for them. I can fight my own battle and know that they can handle themselves, it's a huge weight off my shoulders."

Angel just nodded, the entire time he was concentrating on the clock on top of his television, a question kept buzzing in his head; he looked to Buffy, "What I don't understand is how The Scoobies have gone this long without going to your grave. I mean, they would notice the giant hole and figure out that you got out so why not call me?" he asked.

Buffy shrugged and put her head on Angel's shoulder, "I thought about that too. Maybe they have found my open grave. Maybe they are looking for me, maybe they didn't want to alarm you." She replied tiredly.

Angel let out a confused sigh. Willow would have called him. He would have helped. So why didn't she?

Angel played with a long blonde strand that fell on his chest, "Are you happy?"

Buffy turned her head so she could see him, "Hm?"

"Are you happy?" he asked again.

She thought for a moment and nodded, "When I'm not thinking about the people I left behind yeah I'm happy."

Angel ran his hand up and down her arm, "Do you have feelings for him?"

Buffy shot upright, "What? Who?"

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, "The guy that has feelings for you, do you have feelings for him?" Angel asked half serious and half jealousy. Even if they couldn't be together anymore Angel always saw Buffy as his alone. He just couldn't let her go.

Buffy frowned, "Feelings for who?"

Angel sighed, "The dick back at the bar."

"Dean?"

Angel nodded, "Buffy have you forgotten that A) I'm a vampire and B) I can read you very well." When Buffy looked at him more confused than before he sighed, "I saw the looks between you two; I saw how jealous he got of me talking to you… I've been on that end before Buffy so I know what to look for. I can also smell you on each other-"

"We haven't-"

Angel chuckled, "Either way, I can smell you on him…" he lent in and buried his head in the crook of her neck and took a breath he slowly moved his lips to her ear, "And him on you." He spoke and leant away.

Buffy chewed on the inside of her mouth and looked everywhere but at Angel. "I care about him that's all." She said icily, Angel just nodded once and said nothing else.

Glancing at the clock on top of the television she sighed, "It's getting late. I should go." She said distantly as she got up and started to put her jacket on.

Angel got to his feet and picked up his keys, "I'll drive you."

Buffy started to argue when Angel held up a hand and she finally gave in and followed him to his car.

They drove back to Buffy's motel in silence, Buffy felt awkward and at peace at the same time: on one hand it was like nothing had changed since she last seen Angel, It was familiar and nice but on the other hand she'd changed so much the last few months that she wasn't sure what she wanted anymore.

When they got to her motel Angel insisted on walking her to her door. She'd forgotten how old fashioned he actually was.

Buffy unlocked her door and she stood in the doorway, neither of them wanting to say goodbye as usual.

"So when do you leave?" Buffy asked.

Angel shrugged and put his hands into his jacket pocket, "I don't know, tomorrow night maybe. Or I might wait till you leave."

Buffy laughed, "I don't need protecting."

Angel smiled, "I know. I'd just like to make sure you leave in one piece."

Buffy laughed and nodded. Angel planted a kiss on her forehead, whispered a goodbye and started back to his car.

Buffy started to close the door when she heard him call her name.

"Buffy, if you can get away tomorrow night we should talk about the Darla situation." He said as he walked backwards to his car.

Buffy nodded, "I remember your cell. I'll call you." She said and waved him off.

As soon as she was alone she locked her door and fell into bed. She didn't know how long she lay there thinking about her vampire ex but she fell into a slumber and woke in the early hours of the day still in her clothes. No sooner had she woke was there a knock on her door.

Sleepily she got to her feet and answered the knock, Dean stood there with a small smile and he took a quick look around her room before talking, "Just got news on the police scanner. There's another murder."

Buffy nodded once and took her key out the lock and followed Dean to the car.

The older man was shaking his head as they walked up, "Accidents do happen, Cassie. That's what they are—accidents." He was explaining.

Buffy rolled her eyes, _if I had a quarter for every time I heard that it was just an accident,_ she thought as she sipped at her take away Starbucks coffee.

"Did the cops check for additional denting on Jimmy's car? See if it was pushed?" Dean asked when they stopped.

The older man lifted his chin to Dean and looked at Cassie, "Who's this?"

"Dean and Sam Winchester. And Buffy. Family friends." Cassie said then turned to the three behind her, "This is Mayor Harold Todd." She gestured to the old man in front of her.

"So, one set of tire tracks—one—doesn't point to foul play." Harold hissed to Dean. All three looked to the car and saw the only tracks which were in fact just one that lead from the mangled silver car.

Cassie brought the mayors attention back to her, "Mayor, the police and town officials take their cues from you. If you're indifferent about-"

"Indifferent?"

"Would you close the road if the victims were white?" Cassie asked cruelly.

Harold looked offended, "You're suggesting I'm racist, Cassie? I'm the last person you should talk to like that."

"And why is that?" she spat.

He hesitated for a second, "Why don't you ask your mother." He stated cruelly and walked away.

Dean put a hand on Cassie's arm, "You okay?"

She nodded, "Yeah. I… need to talk to my mom. Call me later?" when Dean nodded Cassie walked away.

"Well that was awkward," Buffy said as she drank her coffee.

"Yeah." Sam agreed.

Dean started back to his car, "Come on. Lots to do."

Buffy jogged till she was in step with Dean by his side, "What are we doing?"

Dean unlocked the car, "First you need to change. Put a suit on."

Buffy walked round to the back of the car, "Why?"

Dean shrugged, "You want to be more involved I'm offering you to come along with me and Sam stay at home but if you don't-"

"No…" Buffy saw the smile on his face and she slapped his arm and got inside.

When they got back to their rooms Dean pulled out his suit from one of his duffels. Sam sat at the small table and was currently putting all his books onto the table along with his laptop. He had no idea what the thing might be so he was making sure all his resources were within reach.

"I'll say this for her—she's fearless." Sam said, talking about Cassie, as he took his laptop out of his bag and was taking it to the table.

"Mm-hmm." Dean said as he tied up his tie.

Sam stopped at his brother's side, "I bet she kicked your ass a couple times."

When Dean stopped and glared at him Sam smiled, "What's interesting is you guys never really look at each other at the same time. You look at her when she's not looking, she checks you out when you look away." Sam said, leaning against the wall watching his brother try to do his tie.

When Dean looked at him strangely Sam continued, "It's just an interesting observation. In a, you know, observationally interesting way." He sighed.

Dean turned to his brother, "I think we might have some more pressing issues here." He said sternly.

Sam just smiled at his big brother, "Hey, if I'm hittin' a nerve—"

"Screw you." Dean grunted as he walked out of the motel room.

Walking a few doors down he knocked on Buffy's door. When she answered Dean nearly fell over. They both took in each other's looks: Buffy stood there in a long black high waist pencil skirt, her shirt was a pale pink and was tucked inside her skirt neatly, her hair was up in a tight bun and she accessorised with a pair of small square glasses, a plain silver cross, a tiny pale pink belt around her waist and a pair of black pumps, the heel not too small and not too big.

Dean just wore a simple black suit with a white shirt and black tie and tidy black shiny shoes. He could even pass for normal if he wanted too.

"Wow." They both said in unison.

"You scrub up well," Buffy laughed.

Dean smiled, "You look… Man you do undercover well." He laughed.

Buffy laughed with him and left her room.

Dean pointed to the glasses, "Nice touch," he said as they walked to the car.

"So what are we? F.B.I? C.I.A?" She asked.

"Insurance sales…people." He corrected as he unlocked the Impala.

Buffy frowned, "Insurance?" she sighed and opened the door, "Sam gets all the good covers." She grumbled as she got inside.

On the way Dean explained that they were going to check out some of the friends the new victim, Jimmy Anderson – the old African-American from the newsroom – and were posing as two people from his Insurance Company.

"Don't I need I.D?" Buffy asked.

Dean shook his head, "Not if you're a good enough liar." He said as he stopped the car in a parking lot a few feet from the docks by the lake. They walked in silence around a corner; Dean tapped Buffy on the elbow when he spotted the people he was looking for. Two men were playing checkers on a tiny makeshift table.

Dean stopped next to the Caucasian, "Excuse me, are you Ron Stubbins?" the white man looked up at Dean then looked at Buffy a tad too long with a smile. When the man nodded Dean asked, "You were friends of Jimmy Anderson?"

"Who are you?" Ron asked.

Dean looked at Buffy then back at Ron, "We're with Mr Anderson's insurance company. We're just here to dot some I's and cross some T's." he explained.

"We were just wondering had the deceased mentioned any unusual recent experiences?" Buffy asked.

Ron looked Buffy up and down again, "What do you mean, unusual?"

Buffy put her hands on her hips, "Well, visions, hallucinations." She answered.

"It's all part of a medical examination kind of thing, all very standard." Dean said when he saw the two men looking suspicious.

"What company did you say you were with?" Ron asked.

"All National Mutual." Dean replied, he partially took out an envelope from his jacket then put it away with a small smile, "Tell me, did he ever mention seeing a truck? A big, black truck?"

Buffy noticed the other man look up at them intently away from his game something he hadn't done since they arrived.

Ron went back to his game, "What the hell are you talking about? You even speaking English?"

The other man looked up at Dean, "Son, this truck—a big, scary, monster-lookin' thing?"

Dean nodded, "Yeah, actually, I think so."

The man just nodded as he looked at his game, "Hm."

"What?"

"I have heard of a truck like that." He answered.

Dean looked at Buffy, "You have? Where?" She asked.

"Not where—when." He looked up at Buffy, "Back in the sixties, there was a string of deaths. Black men. Story goes; they disappeared in a big, nasty, black truck." He explained.

"They ever catch the guy who did it?" Dean asked.

"Never found him. Hell, I'm not sure they even really looked." He chuckled, "See, there was a time this town wasn't too friendly to all its citizens." He finished seriously and glared at Ron beside him.

Buffy smiled, "Thank you." She said and she and Dean walked back to the car.

"Truck." Dean sighed.

Buffy sighed too, "Keeps comin' up, doesn't it?"

"You know what I was thinking? You heard of the Flying Dutchman?"

Buffy nodded, "Yeah, a ghost ship infused with the captain's evil spirit. Basically a part of him." When she saw the look Dean gave her she smiled, "I'm not just a pretty face you know. I do know stuff." She laughed.

"Yeah, so what if we're dealing with the same thing? You know, a phantom truck that's the extension of some bastard ghost, re-enacting past crimes." He explained.

"The victims have all been black men." Buffy pointed out.

"It's more than that. They all seem connected to Cassie and her family."

Buffy nodded, "Alright, well, you work with that angle. Go talk to her." She said trying to not sound jealous. Cause she wasn't.

Dean nodded, "Yeah, I will."

"Oh, and you might also want to mention that other thing." She said politely when they stopped at the car.

Dean turned around and stood in front of her, "What other thing?"

Buffy scoffed, "The serious unfinished business." When he looked at her blankly Buffy put a hand on her hip, "Dean, I'm not blind. Or stupid. What is going on between you two?" she asked.

"Alright, so maybe we were a little bit more involved than I said." He explained unconvincingly.

Buffy crossed her arms, "Yeah? Just a little bit? You sure?"

"Okay, a lot more. Maybe." Buffy let out a little chuckle.

Dean fiddled with the keys in his hands, "And I told her the secret about what we do, and I shouldn't have."

Buffy shook her head, "No, look, Dean, everybody's gotta open up to someone, sometime."

"Yeah, I don't. It was stupid to get that close, and look how it ended."

Buffy smiled at him finally realising he was trying to convince himself not her.

"Would you stop?" Dean said to her staring but she continued, "Blink or something."

"You loved her." She pointed out.

Dean turned back around and went to his door, "Oh, God."

Buffy leant against the car, "Let me guess, you were in love with her but you dumped her." When Dean looked back up at her his face looked so sad Buffy caught her breath, he slowly shook his head. "Oh… She dumped you." Buffy answered her own question.

"Get in the car." He said opening his door and getting inside, Buffy was still stood in the same spot stunned, "Get in the car!" He yelled from the inside.

Buffy slowly went round to the other side and got in beside him.

"I'll drop you off at the motel and you can fill Sam in while I talk to Cassie." Dean said as he drove.

Buffy just nodded, she was too stunned to speak. No wonder Dean's the way he is. He told the only person he's loved about what he does and she threw it in his face? She was starting to realise why he kept people at arm's length.

When he stopped at the motel she got out and headed straight for Deans room. Sam answered on the third knock. He was a little taken aback at the sight of her but didn't have time to say anything as Buffy barged past him.

"He loved her." She said as she came inside.

"What? Where's Dean?" he asked as he shut the door and made his way back to the table and sat down.

Buffy sank in the seat across from him and took off the costume glasses, "Dean. He loved her. Cassie. She dumped him." She sputtered.

Sam just smiled, "Huh, so that's why he's the way he is. Did you by any chance happen to find out more about this truck?" he asked, clasping his hands together and resting them on the piles of opens of books on the table.

Buffy nodded and sat back in the chair and crossed her legs, "Yeah, Dean seems to think it's like The Flying Dutchman kind of deal going on." She explained briefly as she pulled her skirt down over her knee.

Sam raised his brows, "A phantom truck that's the extension of some ghost, re-enacting past crimes." He said with a nod.

"Yahtzee. Dean said the exact same thing." She smiled leaning over the table and resting her elbows on the table. She looked around at the books on the table, "I guess you don't have to research anymore?"

Sam shrugged and started to shut the books, "Guess not. Only to look into someone that owned a black truck."

Buffy held up a hand, "Hey, one of the people we spoke to mentioned a string of deaths on black men back in the sixties."

Sam smiled and came around the table, took her head in his hands and kissed the top of her head, "You just narrowed my search by forty years. Thank you." He said happily and went back to putting away his books while Buffy laughed at him.

She got out of her seat, "Okay, while you look up nasty trucks from the Sixties, I'm gonna change. You fancy going out for something to eat after?"

Sam closed the duffel with his books and put it under the table, "Should we wait for Dean?"

Buffy shrugged, "Who knows how long he's going to be. Besides it's not every day we get a break from him. We should enjoy it while it lasts." She laughed and elbowed him lightly in the ribs.

Sam rubbed at his ribs and laughed, "Okay. Give me an hour?"

Buffy nodded and waved on her way out the door.

Dean parked outside Cassie's driveway and it took him a few minutes to work up the courage to make his way up to her house. This will be the first time he's been alone with Cassie since she broke up with him and he had no idea how tonight was going to end up. He had a lot of stuff he wanted to say to her about the night he told her everything and she shot him down. This wasn't the time though, he wanted to keep his brain firmly on the job at hand and talk to her about the truck.

Knocking on her door he started to get a little nervous and was about to walk away when the door opened up and Cassie was stood a little startled to see him.

"Dean, hey." She said surprised.

He gave her a small smile, "Hey."

Cassie moved out the way and ushered him inside, "Come on in."

The hallway being a little small Dean had to squeeze past Cassie, their bodies barely touching brought an ache to Dean's stomach, he'd forgotten how much he missed her – even if she thought he was a nut job.

When he was inside and Cassie shut the door behind Dean turned, "So, are you busy?"

She shook her head, "Uh, the paper's doing a tribute to Jimmy." She pointed to the computer desk in the lounge and walked towards it, "I was just going through his stuff, his awards. Trying to find the words." She said as she stopped at a box on the desk full of said awards and articles he'd worked on over the years.

Dean leant against a large wooden beam situated between the lounge and the hallway, his hands buried in his pockets, "That's gotta be tough." He said sweetly.

Cassie turned to see him, "For years, this family owned the paper, the Dorians. They had a white's only staff policy." She picked up one of the papers from the box, "After they sold it, Jimmy became the first black reporter. He didn't stop till he became editor." She spoke with a smile and put the paper back inside the box, "He taught me everything."

She finished and walked towards Dean, leaning on another wooden beam opposite him, "Where's your brother?" she said feigning nonchalance and failing.

Dean opened and closed his mouth a couple of times until he stated awkwardly, "Not here.

She smiled a little, "Alright," she planted her hands behind her back and rested them on the wooden beam, "so, uh, what brings you here?" she asked nervously.

"Trying to find the connection between the three victims." He held up a hand in a pointing gesture, "By the way, did you talk to your mom about what Todd said about not being a racist?" he asked and put his hand back in his jeans pocket.

Cassie nodded, "I did. She didn't wanna talk about it."

Dean nodded, "Right." He whispered, there was a long awkward silence while Dean thought about something she said a few minutes ago, "So, just then, um, why'd you ask where my brother was?"

Cassie smiled and shook her head, "Nothing. Not important."

Dean straightened and removed his hands from his pockets, making himself look more confident that he was actually feeling, "Could it be because without him here, it's just you and me? And not you, me, and Sam, which would be easier?"

Cassie snorted, "It's not easier." Seeing the look on his face hers softened, "Look, I-"

Holding up a hand he started to walk into the lounge, "No, forget it. It's fine. We'll keep it strictly business." He said with a nod and a smile.

Cassie sneered, "I forgot you do that."

Dean was looking through some papers from the box and turned around with them in his hands, "Do what?"

Cassie stayed where she was, "Oh, whenever we get—what's the word, close? Anywhere in the neighborhood of emotional vulnerability, you back off. Or make some joke, or find any way to shut the door on Me." She turned her back a little on him and Dean laughed in surprise.

"Oh, that's hilarious." He started seriously as he walked towards her, "See, I'm not the one who took that big final door and slammed it behind me." He explained.

Cassie stood defensively, "Wait a minute-"

"And I'm not the one who took the key and buried it." Dean stated a little louder.

"Are we done with this metaphor?"

Dean moved a little closer, "All I'm saying is I was totally upfront with you back then and you nailed me with it." He frowned.

"The guy I'm with, the guy I'm hoping might be in my future tells me he professionally pops ghosts." She argued.

"That's not the words I used-" he argued back.

"And that he has to leave to go work with his father."

"I did." He yelled.

"All I could think was, if you want out, fine, but don't tell me this insane story." Cassie explained.

Dean was nearly screaming now, "It was the truth, Cassie! And I noticed it didn't sound so insane the minute you thought I could help you!"

Cassie turned and walked further into the hallway, "Back then, I thought you just wanted to dump me."

Dean looked at her with surprise and followed her, "Whoa, let's not forget who dumped who, okay?" he told her, and pointed at her in case she'd forgotten.

"I thought it was what you wanted." She said softly.

"Well, it wasn't." Dean spoke sternly.

"I didn't mean to hurt you!" she yelled.

"Well, you did." He said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry!" she cried.

"Yeah, me too."

Dean and Cassie stopped talking and just stared at each other for a couple of seconds, both getting their breath back from the yelling, then they both pulled each other close and broke into a passionate kiss filled with love and regret and hunger. After a few seconds they pulled away both slightly dazed before kissing again. Cassie slid Dean's jacket off him and he wrapped his arms around her and she wrapped a hand around his neck and one hand found its way into his hair. Not breaking their kiss Cassie led him up to her bedroom.

The next morning Dean woke with a smile on his face, he hadn't woken up like that in a long time.

He lay in Cassie's bed with her snuggled into his chest and his arm was wrapped around her and was playing with her dark curls.

"We should fight more often." She said with a smile.

"Absolutely." He said seriously and Cassie laughed into his shoulder. He moved his hand and was currently stroking her arm and shoulder, "Actually, we were always pretty good at fighting." She stated.

"Mm." Dean agreed a little sleepily.

Cassie pointed at them both and joked, "This we were good at." She laughed and Dean half smiled, "It's all the other stuff….not so much." She said a little sadly.

"Hey, I tried. I mean, I told you who I really was. That's a big first for me." He explained.

"Why'd you tell me?" she asked as she played with the necklace around his neck.

"I don't know." He said honestly, he looked down at her and she looked up at him, he pulled her a little closer, "I guess I couldn't lie to you."

"Dean, you told me that story—and it scared the hell outta me. I thought you were nuts. Dangerous, even." Sitting up Cassie looked at him properly, "Actually, maybe I was looking for a reason to walk away."

Dean thought for a moment, "In my work, um….I see some horrible things. Things that can't be explained. And I deal with them. But working things out with you?" they both laughed.

Cassie smiled, "I'm a scary one alright." She agreed and Dean chuckled, she lay back down and snuggled into him, "Well, usually, things get worked out. When you really want them to."

Dean understood what she was trying to say, if he wanted to be with her then he could. "Yeah, but I'm still really involved in my dad's work." He explained a little sad.

Cassie sat up so she could look at him again, "No more excuses, okay? From you or me."

Dean nodded, "Okay." They shared a long kiss until Dean's cell rang and he reluctantly pulled away.

Grabbing his cell he looked at the caller, seeing it was Sam he answered the call, "Yeah?" Dean frowned when Sam spoke on the other end, "You're kidding. I'll be there in ten." He hung up and shot out of bed and began putting on his jeans.

"What is it? What's happened?" Cassie asked as she also got out of bed and wrapped herself into her robe.

"It's the Mayor," Dean began as he zipped up his jeans and pulled on his t-shirt, "He's been killed. Sam and Buffy are meeting me there to check it out." He finished as he slipped into his boots.

Cassie started fishing for a pair of jeans, "Let me come with you."

"No." Dean grabbed her by the arms and gave her a smile, "There's nothing you can do there. I'll meet you later?"

Cassie sighed and nodded, Dean gave her a quick kiss and left her room, he picked up his jacket that was still on the hallway floor and left the house.

When Dean made it to the murder scene Sam and Buffy were already there, Sam was in plain clothes talking to an officer and Buffy was in plain clothes talking to a few local people.

When Sam spotted him he waved him over, "He's with me." He said and the officer walked away, Sam put his notebook back inside his jacket and wrapped it around him, the snow was falling heavily for so early in the morning, when the officer had gone Sam said, "Where were you last night?" when Dean didn't reply and concentrated on the body bag being carried away Sam smiled, "You didn't make it back to the motel."

Dean sighed and walked down the road towards a few cop cars, "Nope."

Sam smiled again, "I'm guessing you guys worked things out?"

"We'll be workin' things out when we're ninety." Dean stated to which Sam laughed in agreement, "So, what happened?"

Sam recalled what the officer had just told him, "Every bone crushed. Internal organs turned to pudding. The cops are all stumped, but it's almost like something ran him over."

"Something like a truck?"

His brother nodded, "Yep."

"Tracks?"

"Nope." His brother answered and Dean sighed.

Dean looked at the property around him, "What was the mayor doing here anyway?"

"He owned the property. Bought it a few weeks ago."

"Yeah, but he's white. He doesn't fit the pattern." Dean said confused.

Sam shrugged, "Killings didn't happen up on the road. That doesn't fit either."

"What the hell is going on here?" Dean asked more to himself.

Buffy came up behind Sam, "So I talked to some of the people that live nearby and they swore they never heard anything around the time he was killed, especially a car or truck." She said and stopped between the guys, Dean was about to say something when she finished what she was going to say, "However all the people I talked to all swear they had some kind of static interference with their radios or televisions around the time of the murder."

Both Winchesters looked at her with the same surprised expression, "So it's definitely a spirit then." Sam stated and both nodded.

"We have to find this connection between the victims." Buffy stated.

Dean nodded, "Okay you guys find out if there's a connection with the property and I'll find the connection between the victims."

They nodded and Sam started to walk away. Buffy gave Dean a once over, only just realising he was still in the same clothes as the night before.

"So things went well last night I see." She said a little coldly.

Dean stiffened, "Yeah. It just… kind of happened." He said defensively.

Buffy and Dean shared a look before she started to walk away and jogged to catch up with Sam.

Buffy and Sam made their own way to the local court house and Buffy flirted with the officer that was in charge of watching the records while Sam noted down everything he could find on the property the Mayor had bought. When he was done Buffy ran out the courthouse before the officer to ask for her number, Sam came out the courthouse laughing his head off at her shivering and grimacing.

"God I feel like I need to shower three times before I go anywhere else." She groaned as Sam walked up beside her.

"Aww that's not nice I think he was falling in love with you." Sam teased and bellowed when Buffy walked away shivering.

As they walked around the docks Sam dialled Dean's number and put him on loudspeaker, "Yeah?" his voice bellowed out of the speakers.

Sam handed Buffy the phone while he flipped through his notes, "Okay, the courthouse records show that Mr and Mrs Mayor bought an abandoned property. The previous owner was the Dorian family, for, like, 150 years." He explained loudly over the squawking of the seagulls resting nearby.

"Dorian?"

"Yeah."

There was some muffled talking through the line, "Right. Right." Went Dean's voice then It went quiet again for a second. "That's interesting." Dean spoke.

"What?" Sam asked and looked at Buffy.

"This Cyrus Dorian—he vanished in April of '63. The case was investigated but never solved. That's right around the time the string of murders was going on back then." Dean said down the line.

"Well, I pulled a bunch of paper up on the Dorian place; it must have been in bad shape when the mayor bought it." Sam replied.

"Why is that?"

"The first thing he did was bulldoze the place." Sam explained. Finally pieces of the puzzle were starting to fit together.

There was another minute of muffled talking, "You got a date?"

Sam stopped walking and checked his book, Buffy had to walk backwards a couple of steps when she realised he wasn't walking, "The third of last month."

"Mayor Todd bulldozes Dorian family home on the third. The first killing was the very next day." Dean said.

Buffy sighed, "I guess we've found our connection."

The rest of the day was filled with them trying to find the real connection between Cyrus and Cassie's father but they hadn't found anything concrete to work with. Dean went home to catch up on some sleep while Sam tried to find the missing connection and Buffy relaxed in her room.

She was in the shower thinking about Dean when she sensed someone at her door. She didn't know how long she was stood in the shower for but she was just stood there thinking about Dean and Cassie. Were they back together? Was he going to stay here when the job was finished? What about her?

As she turned off the shower she heard the nock on her door. She quickly pulled on some clothes and dried her hair with a towel as best she could before opening the door. Angel was stood at her door.

"Angel." she said, dropping the towel to the floor and her hair sticking up in all directions.

"I started to worry when I never got your call. Can I come in?"

Buffy moved so he could come inside and she shut the door behind him. "I was going to call you last night but there's so much going on right now that it slipped my mind." She said as she picked up her brush and gave her hair a quick brush so it wasn't as messy then sat beside him on her bed. "I guess you want to talk about Darla."

He didn't say anything. He only nodded. Buffy explained everything that she knew. That she really was human but she still had the vampire memories. "I don't know how Angel but she's back and she's going after you."

Angel looked away from her distantly, "I have a feeling I know what – or who – brought her back. It's more why than anything else."

Buffy took his hand, "Well whoever brought her back she needs to be taken care of Angel, she's very dangerous. She might be human but she still knows how to play mind games. Trust me."

Angel glanced at her, "She messed with your boyfriends head?"

Buffy sighed and let go of his hand and got off the bed, "Dean isn't my boyfriend."

Angel stood up, "But you like him… more than you're admitting to yourself."

Buffy planted her hands on her hips, "Maybe. But that has nothing to do with you. You're not my boyfriend anymore. Haven't been for over four years."

Angel put his hands on her shoulders, "That doesn't mean I don't care about you Buffy." He stated softly. Buffy looked up at him before wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her head in his chest. She felt his hands wrap around her back and stroke her hair.

They stayed like that for what felt like forever, she'd missed his hugs more than she realised, before she pulled away and went to sit back on the bed, "So… what are you going to do about Darla?"

Angel sat beside her and put a hand on her knee, she wrapped her fingers around his, "Well… I kind of want to know what she's up to so I might let her play her game for a little while. Let her think she's got me where she wants me. I won't let her know that she is Darla." He suggested.

"Is that a good idea? That could be dangerous."

"I won't tell the others, that way it'll be more convincing. I won't let her hurt anyone Buffy." He saw the worry in her face and stroked her cheek, "And I'll kill her before she gets to Sunnydale."

Buffy smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Thank you. Can I ask a favour?"

She felt Angel chuckle, "You've used a few already."

She pulled away slightly but kept her arms around his neck, "Every now and again if you're close by… could you check on the gang? Keep them safe."

Angel sighed, "Why won't you go see them for yourself?" Buffy let go and turned away, "Why did you leave? And don't give me the talk of "it was for their own good.""

Buffy fought back tears, "I can't go back. Being a Slayer I draw bad things to me. They don't need that in their lives anymore. They all deserve to be happy. Especially Dawn."

Angel put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly, "They deserve to know their best friend and sister is alive. This isn't fair to them."

"What like when you left and you weren't going to tell me?" she spat and shrugged him off, sighing she finished, "Angel. I don't ask you for anything just… if you're close by could you just check in with them and let me know if they are okay."

She felt Angel move and in an instant he was crouching in front of her and stroked her cheek, "I will. I promise." He said looking into her sad eyes and wiped the tear that fell down her cheek. "I should get back to L.A before sunrise. Sort out this whole Darla business." He said after a few minutes of silence and they both slowly stood up.

Buffy walked him to the door and they were greeted with cold crisp air, Angel stood outside the door and Buffy stood just inside. He took her hands and squeezed them gently, "You be careful. Don't leave it to long to call me next time, especially now I know you're travelling all around. Let me know you're safe." He said softly.

Buffy nodded her head and squeezed his hands, "I promise. Let me know what happens with Darla. Let me know you're safe."

Angel smiled his usual sexy smile, "I promise." He said and leant forward and planted his soft lips on hers.

They pulled each other close and kissed for a long time. In that kiss Buffy forgot about everything around her, all she remembered was her and Angel; when they first met, their first kiss, losing her virginity to him, him coming back from hell, her prom with him. All the love they felt for each other and how much they miss each other was in that long kiss.

Eventually Angel pulled away and they smiled at each other, he ran a hand through her hair and down her face and stroked her cheek with his thumb, resting his forehead against hers Buffy shut her eyes as he spoke, "Goodbye." He said and kissed her forehead.

"Bye." She said softly and opened her eyes when he pulled away and watched him walk down the steps into the parking lot and towards his car.

When she couldn't see him anymore Buffy let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding and leant against the doorframe and shut her eyes. She never realised how much she'd wanted to see him until now.

She felt so much better talking to someone from her past about how she actually felt, Sam and Dean didn't know all her past so it was hard to explain everything to them but at least Angel knew everything about her and so it was easier to talk to him about how she felt.

The sound of jangling keys made her jump and she turned her head to see Dean and Sam stood at their door gawking at her, their eyes wide and mouths open. She stood straight and looked at them with a little blush, "What's up guys?" she asked coolly like she thought they hadn't seen what just happened.

Dean just stood there with wide eyes and his car keys swinging in his hands. Sam cleared his throat, "Uh, Dean got a distress call from Cassie. She thinks the truck was trying to kill her so we're heading over there now." He explained, the confusion from what he just witnessed still etched into his voice.

"Okay let me just grab my jacket." She said and went inside.

Dean and Sam were able to share a quick look before she came back out with one of her thick woollen jackets on. Sam had made his way to the car and Dean was locking the door behind. Buffy was locking her door when Dean spoke up, "Looks like you and your boyfriend had fun tonight." He said dryly.

Buffy sighed and slipped her room key in her pocket, "Give it a rest Dean," she said as she walked over towards him, "If you can sleep with your ex then I can sleep with mine." She retorted and casually made her way past him and over to the car.

The car ride was a little tense from what Buffy said to Dean but they all tried to make conversation to act as normal as possible to prove that neither were jealous of the other. They arrived at Cassie's home in maybe ten minutes and they walked straight inside as they were expected.

Sam made them tea while Dean and Buffy sat with Cassie and her mother as they explained what had happened. She told them about being home alone and hearing the roaring of the truck and its headlights beaming into the house. She was very shook up. Dean sat beside her and kept his hand on the small of her back. Buffy sat opposite Dean but tried not to look at him, he was also trying to not look at her. Sam came back with tea for Cassie and her mother.

"Maybe you could throw a couple shots in there." Cassie joked feebly as Sam handed her the cup and sat beside her.

"You didn't see who was driving the truck?" Dean asked.

Cassie shook her head, "Seemed to be no one." She sat her teacup and saucer on her lap, "Everything was moving so fast. And then it was just gone. Why didn't it kill us?" she asked mainly Dean.

"Whoever's controlling the truck wants you afraid first." Dean explained as he looked from Buffy to Sam.

The three of them looked at Cassie's mother who had her eyes closed with a guilty expression on her face; she opened her eyes when Sam spoke to her. "Mrs Robinson, Cassie said that your husband saw the truck before he died."

She didn't reply.

Cassie looked at her mother expectantly, "Mom?"

She distantly looked to her daughter, "Mm?" seeing Cassie's curious expression she shrugged and held onto her tea cup tightly to try and stop the shakes she was having, "Oh, Martin was under a lot of stress. You can't be sure what he was seeing." She explained.

"Well, after tonight, I think we can be reasonably sure that he was seeing a truck." Dean said sarcastically. "What happened tonight—you and Cassie are marked. Okay? And your daughter could die. So, if you know something, now would be a really good time to tell us about it." He said seriously his voice slowly rising towards the end.

"Dean-" Both Buffy and Cassie said at the same time and both were cut off by Cassie's mother.

"Yes." She ran a shaky hand down her face in defeat, "Yes, he said he saw a truck."

Buffy leant forward in her seat so she could be seen by Cassie's mother, "Did he know who it belonged to?"

She looked down into her cup as she spoke, "He thought he did."

"Who was that?" Dean asked.

She was trying so hard to fight back tears as she spoke, "Cyrus. A man named Cyrus."

Dean grabbed his jacket that he had taken off earlier and put it behind him and he dug into a couple of his pockets until he found the paper he was after. He held it up for her to see: It was the article on Cyrus he found earlier that day. "Is this Cyrus?" he asked.

Cassie's mother barely looked at the picture, "Cyrus Dorian died more than Forty years ago." She told them.

They all looked at her with surprise, "How do you know he died, Mrs Robinson?" Dean asked, when she looked at him guilty, he asked her, "The paper said he went missing. How do you know he died?"

It took her a few minutes to get the words out, "We were all very young. I dated Cyrus a while, but I was also seeing Martin. In secret, of course." She turned to look at her daughter, "Interracial couples didn't go over too well then. When I broke it off with Cyrus, and when he found out about Martin….I don't know, he—he changed. His hatred—his hatred was frightening."

Sam spoke to Dean and Buffy, "The string of murders."

Mrs Robinson nodded once, "There were rumors. People of color disappearing in some kind of a truck. But nothing was ever done." Her voice started to quiver and she swallowed back tears, "Martin and I, we were, uh, going to be married in that little church near here. But last minute, we decided to elope, cause we didn't want the attention."

"And Cyrus?" Buffy asked.

Cassie's mother started to cry as she thought back to those years she tried to forget. "The day we set for the wedding was….the day someone set fire to the church." She covered her mouth as she sobbed, "There was a children's choir practicing in there. They all died."

"Did the attacks stop after that?" Sam asked her softly.

She shook her head, "No. There was one more. One night, that truck came for Martin. Cyrus beat him something terrible. But Martin, you see, Martin got loose. And he started hitting Cyrus, and he just kept hitting him and hitting him." Her voice got louder and louder and she had to stop. Thinking back was almost unbearable.

"Why didn't he call the cops?" Dean asked.

Mrs Robinson looked at him strangely and yelled hysterically; "This was forty years ago! He called on his friends, Clayton Solmes and Jimmy Anderson, and they put Cyrus' body into the truck and rolled it into the swamp at the edge of this land, and all three of them kept that secret all these years!"

"And now all three are gone." Sam stated.

Dean folded his hands together, still clutching onto the news article on Cyrus. "So is Mayor Todd. Now, he said that you, of all people, would know that he is not a racist. Why would he say that?"

"He was a good man. He was a young deputy back then, investigating Cyrus' disappearance. Once he figured out what Martin and the others had done, he….he did nothing. Because he also knew what Cyrus had done." She told them more calm but still trying to hold back tears.

Cassie was crying now, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought I was protecting them." Mrs Robinson started to cry again, "And now there's no one left to protect." she buried her face in her hands.

"Yes, there is." Dean said sternly and looked at Cassie and rubbed circles on her back.

Mrs Robinson looked at her daughter with a small smile and took her hand. There was a long silence where everyone seemed to calm down. Dean stood up and cleared his throat, "I guess we should let you both rest. You both have had a pretty hard night."

Mrs Robinson got up from her chair, "Thank You. I think I'm going to go to bed." She started to head up to her room and said goodbye as she made her way up.

Everyone else got to their feet and they made their way to the front door, "Can you wait for me for one sec. I just want to make sure my mom's okay then I'll see you outside?" Cassie asked Dean as she opened the door for them to leave.

He nodded and they all went outside and made the way to the car. They leant against the side of the Impala as they waited for Cassie.

Sam looked up at the sky and sighed with a smile, "My life was so simple. Just school. Exams. Papers on polycentric cultural norms."

Buffy sighed and leant against Sam, "My life was so simple. Death. Apocalypse. The occasional Vampire Slaying."

Sam and Buffy chuckled as Dean walked past them and sat on the hood of the car, shoving his hands into his jeans he turned to them, "So, I guess I saved both from a boring existence." He said sarcastically.

Sam sighed half-heartedly, "Yeah, occasionally, I miss boring."

Buffy just nodded. It was only her friends and family she missed a lot. Not Sunnydale or the badness that came with it.

Dean didn't comment, "Alright, so, this killer truck-"

Sam laughed, "I miss conversations that didn't start with "this killer truck""

Dean and Buffy laughed with him, "Alright, well, this Cyrus guy…." Dean suggested.

Buffy shifted in her spot, it had been a while since she'd worn thin heeled boots and they were starting to burn.

"Evil on a level that infected even his truck. And when he died, the swamp became his tomb. And the spirit was dormant for forty years." Dean continued.

"So, what do you think woke it up?" Buffy asked crossing her arms, pulling her jacket in close from the cold breeze.

Dean only thought for a split second, "The construction on his house. Or, the destruction."

Sam nodded. "Right. Demolition or remodelling can awaken spirits, make 'em restless. Like that theatre in Illinois."

Dean agreed, "Yeah. And the guy who tears down the family homestead, Harold Todd, is the same guy that kept Cyrus' murder quiet and unsolved."

"So, now his spirit is awakened, and out for blood." Buffy uttered.

"Yeah, I guess. Who knows what ghosts are thinking anyway?" Dean laughed.

Sam shook his head, "You know we're gonna have to dredge that body up from the swamp, right?"

When he looked at his brother he saw Dean wearing a huge smile and was nodding. "Oh, man." He groaned. Dredging up bodies from swamps was not Sam's favourite past times.

"You said it." Dean laughed.

"Am I hell helping you out with that!" Buffy laughed.

All three were laughing tiredly when they saw Cassie walk down her pathway and over to them. Dean turned towards her and took a few steps away from the car.

"Hey. She's asleep. Now what?" Cassie asked impatiently.

Dean looked over to her house, "Well, you stay put, and look after her. And we'll be back. Don't leave the house." The last part he looked at his ex-girlfriend seriously.

Cassie shook her head with a light smile. "Don't go getting all authoritative on me. I hate it."

Dean turned his head and saw Sam smirking and Buffy was looking at everything but he and Cassie, turning back to her he shrugged, "Don't leave the house, please?" he said innocently and Cassie smiled.

He leaned into her and met her mouth with his own soft lips.

Hearing them kissing Buffy stood straight and made her way inside the car. It didn't help she could still see them kissing in front of her. All Buffy could think about was the feel of those lips against hers and how nice it felt. Eventually the kissing stopped and when Buffy looked towards Dean he was already heading towards his side of the car.

"You comin' or what?" he said to his brother, who laughed and got inside a few seconds after Dean.

After leaving Cassie's they headed straight to the Mayors renovation property to try and find the truck hidden in the swamp. Thankfully when they arrived one of the huge digging trucks were still parked in the land beside the house which Dean stated would be easier for them to get the truck out instead of chaining the truck to his Impala to dredge it out which would cause slight damage to the Impala. So instead Dean opted for tying some chains around the digger and sent Sam into the swamp to find the truck. Luckily it wasn't too deep into the swamp so he didn't get a lot of himself wet.

When the chains were tied Sam got out of the swamp and signalled Dean to drive the digger, which he hotwired, "Alright, let's get her up." Sam yelled to Dean and signalled with his hands to move the truck.

Buffy moved out of the way and stood beside Sam, who was still signalling his brother too keep on driving, "Alright, little more, little more. Little more." Dean heaved the entire truck back onto the muddy land and when it was fully out of the swamp Sam stopped waving his hand, "Alright, stop." He yelled at the same time he froze his hand movements. As Dean stopped the digger and jumped out Sam smiled, "Nice."

"Hell, yeah." The older brother said as he made his way to the Impala, over towards Buffy.

"Now I know what she sees in you." Sam said with a cheeky grin.

Dean looked at Buffy for a small second, long enough for her to look back and share a look between each other, "What?"

Sam laughed at his brothers own cluelessness, "Come on, man, you can admit it, you're still in love with her." He said as they made their way to the car and Dean was popping the trunk.

Dean scoffed, "Oh, can we focus, please?" he groaned then glanced over at Buffy who was trying her best not to look bothered by the topic of conversation but failing. He could see how jealous she was. But she deserved better than him. She needed to learn that. Fast. Ignoring his brother he opened the trunk.

Sam laughed, "I'm just sayin', Dean." When it was clear Dean wasn't going to spill he shrugged, "Alright, what am I getting?"

"Gas, flashlight."

Sam took out a huge red bottle of Gasoline and a flashlight, "Got it, and got it."

Dean took out some salt, matches and a couple more flashlights, "Alright, let's get this done." He said as he slammed the trunk shut and they made their way to the forty year old truck.

As they passed Buffy Dean held out a flashlight to her and as she reached to take it he said softly, "Don't listen to Sam."

Buffy grabbed the flashlight from his hand but she didn't move her hand away for a second, her hand lay on his for a moment, "I wasn't. You're not with me so I shouldn't care who you're with right?" she said casually and slowly took her hand away from his and made her way to Cyrus's truck.

They all made their way towards the car and the smell radiating from it was getting worse and worse. Buffy was thankful she'd spent so many years dealing with Vampires, wandering through many morgues and beheading the most disgusting of demons that her nose had developed a tolerance for bad smells. This however still made her gag. Even Sam and Dean looked a little disgusted.

Dean cautiously opened the driver's side door and a skeleton from inside protruded out of the open door enough to make Buffy jump back a little.

Dean scrunched up his nose at the sight of the rotting skeleton, "Alright, let's get to it." He grimaced.

He and Sam grabbed a limb of the skeleton and started to pull him out. Turning to Buffy Dean said, "A little help would be nice."

Buffy snorted then regretted it when the stench caught the back of her throat, "No way. I'm not going anywhere near that thing! I'm a Slayer, I slay… not helping in disposing of a dead body properly." She replied as she tried not to breathe through her nose.

With a heavy sigh Dean took another limb and pulled the skeleton the rest of the way out and he and Sam carefully carried it over towards a pile of wooden pallets a few feet away from the truck by the rest of the demolition gear. Placing it down onto the wooden slab Sam unscrewed the lid off the gasoline bottle and covered the skeleton and the pallets with the liquid. Dean opened the salt lid and went to salt the corpse but Buffy took his wrist.

"Can I salt the skeleton?" she asked with a small smile.

Dean raised a brow, "You sure?" when she nodded he handed her the salt. As she poured the salt on the body Dean spoke in her ear, "Remember to get most of the salt on the corpse, try to cover all of it… that's it…. A little more on the left let… that's great." When the skeleton was submerged in salt and gasoline Dean looked at Buffy with a smile, "Great job!"

Buffy smiled back and handed him back the salt, "Thanks." She laughed.

Taking the salt in one hand Dean pulled his silver Zippo lighter from his jeans with his free hand and lit it. He put the naked flame close to the skeleton and it instantly burst into flames.

"Think that'll do it?" Buffy asked Dean as he put the lighter back into his pocket. Suddenly there was a loud revving noise and all three looking in front of them saw the spirit of the black truck roaring to life.

"I guess not." Dean stated.

Sam raised a hand at the body with confusion, "So, burning the body had no effect on that thing?"

"Oh, sure it did. Now it's really pissed." Dean retorted.

"But Cyrus' ghost is gone, right?" Buffy asked very confused. From what she'd learnt by watching the pair burning a ghost's human body killed it forever.

"Apparently not the part that's fused with the truck." Dean commented as he turned around and walked away. He was heading to his car.

Sam looked at Dean walking away, "Where are you going?" he asked hastily looking from his brother to the phantom truck.

"I'm going for a little ride." He said as he made his way to the driver's door.

"What? Are you crazy?" Buffy asked as she also looked from Dean to the phantom truck.

Dean opened the driver's door, "I'm gonna lead that thing away." He pointed at the real swamp infested truck, "That rusted piece of crap, you've gotta burn it." He yelled over the loud roars of the phantom truck.

Sam kept his eyes on the phantom truck, which was inching closer and closer, "How the hell am I supposed to burn a truck, Dean?"

Dean grabbed a duffel from the floor of the driver's side and tossed it to Sam, "I don't know. Figure something out." He yelled and got inside the car.

Buffy ran to the car, "Dean wait!" she yelled as he started up the engine, and with all the Slayer speed she had she was able to grab the handle of the passenger side door, open it and shut it as Dean drove off.

"What the hell are you doing? Go help Sam burn the truck!" Dean yelled but he didn't stop the car.

"Sam can burn it on his own. I can help you." She yelled over the screeching of the phantom truck behind them.

"And how will you be useful?" Dean yelled as he took a sharp right onto the road leading away from town.

Clutching the dashboard Buffy spoke through gritted teeth, "Well for one thing if you crash this car we will be crushed but I could get us out." She said her voice getting a bit jumpy when he took a speed ramp far too quickly.

Looking behind her Buffy saw the truck was getting closer and closer. Dean tossed something in her lap. His cell phone. "Call Sam."

Sam answered on the third ring, "Hey, you gotta give me a minute." He said quickly through the speakerphone.

"I don't have a minute!" Dean yelled as he took another sharp corner, "What are we doing?"

There was a pause, "Uh….let me get back to you." Then the line went dead.

Dean growled, "Son of a Bitch." he put his foot as far down on the accelerator as he could and changed gears and the Impala seemed to jolt to life and Buffy was almost stuck to her seat with G-Force.

Dean's cell started to ring and Dean took it from Buffy's hand and straight to his ear. "This better be good!... I'm in the middle of nowhere, with a killer truck on my ass! I mean, it's like it knows I put the torch to Cyrus!" he yelled down the line and took another turn. Buffy was starting to feel sick, "Decatur Road, about two miles off the highway." Dean told his brother on the line.

There was a pause before Dean yelled, "Yes!" and like It was a magic word the truck collided with the back of the Impala and Buffy was thrown forward, she smacked her head on the dashboard and she heard Dean yell. Buffy picked up the cell that he dropped under his seat and handed it back to him while she used her coat to stop the bleeding from her head.

Another sharp right and Buffy was almost head to head with the dashboard again this time though her reflexes were ready and her hands went out just in time, "Yeah, I made the turn! You're gonna need to move this thing along a little faster!" Dean screamed down the line as he watched the truck make the same turn.

There was a minute of just driving through a narrow road through a field. Dean looked around at the road in front of him, "No!" Buffy figured Sam must have asked him about looking for another road, "What—wait, yes, I see it!" he yelled. Then a frown, "What?"

The truck was now driving along beside them but Dean quickly hit on the breaks long enough for the truck to pass them completely then he made the left turn into the tiny road barely visible in the dark.

As they drove down the bumpy road Dean kept the phone to his ear and Buffy was clinging onto her seat for dear life.

"Stop?" Dean asked like he was unsure what Sam had said to him.

He threw the cell to Buffy and put both hands on the steering wheel and carefully watched the odometer carefully. After driving exactly seven-tenths of a mile, he screeches to a halt. The back end of the car swerved a semi-circle and Buffy was thrown out of her seat and collided with Dean.

"Fuck!" she yelled as their heads bashed together.

When the car stopped Dean continued to drive back a little closer to the road they were thrown off. The truck appeared in the distance. It didn't move.

Buffy could hear Sam's voice from the cell phone that dropped into Dean's lap which was also where her head currently was residing. Picking up the cell Dean put it to his ear, "Yeah. It's just staring at me, what do I do?"

Whatever Sam said to him Dean didn't like it. He put the phone down back in his lap and looked at Buffy as she sat up, "You okay?"

She nodded and clutched at her left temple, "Yeah… Man you're a shit scary driver!" she laughed then looked in the distance to what Dean was looking at, "What are we doing?"

"Waiting." He replied and in that exact moment the truck started up and raced towards them at an unnatural speed.

As the truck got closer Dean grabbed Buffy and pulled her close to his chest and wrapped an arm around her back, his other hand was holding so tight onto the steering wheel. "Come on, come on." He said impatiently. Buffy could hear his heart racing in his chest. The truck was so close that Buffy couldn't even see anymore, she was blinded and so she buried her face into his chest as Dean pulled her in tight and looked away as the truck came hurtling towards him.

But nothing happened.

They both opened their eyes and there was only a little smoke surrounding the Impala. They looked at each other confused and both pulled away from their embrace.

"Dean? You still there? Dean?" Sam's voice bellowed down the cell phone.

Putting it onto loudspeaker ear Dean asked, "Where'd it go?"

"Dean, you're where the church was." Sam stated.

"What church?" he asked pissed off.

"The place Cyrus burned down. Murdered all those kids."

Dean and Buffy looked around them, "Not a whole lot left." There was barely any walls left of the church.

"Church ground is hallowed ground, whether the church is still there or not. Evil spirits cross over hallowed ground, sometimes they're destroyed. So, I figured maybe that would get rid of it."

Dean looked at Buffy, "Maybe? Maybe? What if you were wrong?" he yelled down the line.

There was a long pause, "Huh. Honestly, that thought hadn't occurred to me." Sam said. Buffy could hear the amusement in his voice.

Dean looked at his phone in a daze and hung up. "Well, that honestly didn't occur to me" he grumbled shaking his head. He slammed his hands on the steering wheel and looked at Buffy, "I'm gonna kill him."

The next morning they met Cassie down at the docks. Dean spoke to her briefly on the phone the night before to let her know it was taken care of and they arranged to meet before he left town. They slept in till pretty late that morning. Later than usual anyway.

Even if it actually meant Buffy only got about four hours sleep. She took her time in packing up too as none of the guys came in to rush her like they usually do. It seemed like Dean was less than eager to leave so quickly.

When they were all packed they drove down to the docks and Sam and Buffy stayed in the car while Dean and Cassie had a conversation. They left for a few minutes then came back to the car again but Dean didn't get inside.

"My mother says to tell you thanks again." Cassie said with a smile and Dean nodded Cassie stopped walking when she was stood in front of him, "This is a better goodbye than last time."

"Yeah, well, maybe this time it'll be a little less permanent." Dean replied almost hopeful.

Cassie smiled, "You know what? I'm a realist. I don't see much hope for us, Dean." She shook her head.

Dean looked at her with disappointment, "Well, I've seen stranger things happen. A hell of a lot stranger."

Cassie shrugged and she glanced inside the car and saw Sam trying to look as casual as possible and Buffy was looking out onto the pier, "Well, you already have a girl with you that's perfect for you. Don't let her slip away this time." Cassie smiled slightly to lighten the mood but her face started to fall, "Goodbye, Dean."

"I'll see ya, Cassie. I will." Dean said sadly and leant in for a kiss but Cassie cut it short. Dean stroked her arm as he backed away and got in the passenger side of the car. Sam waved goodbye to Cassie as he drove off. Buffy gave her a quick wave in goodbye also. She hated to admit it but the girl wasn't so bad, she could see why Dean liked her so god damned much.

When they were finally on the highway Sam spoke up, "I like her."

Dean nodded and looked out his window, "Yeah." He said distantly.

As he changed gears Sam said, "You meet someone like her, ever make you wonder if it's worth it? Putting everything else on hold, doing what we do?"

Dean glanced up at the rear-view mirror and looked at Buffy asleep in the backseat. He then looked to his brother with a smile. Quickly taking another look at the Slayer in the mirror he opened the glove compartment and took out a pair of sunglasses and put them on.

"Wake me up when it's my turn to drive." He smiled and slouched down in his seat to nap. Sam laughed at him then looked in his rear-view mirror and saw that Buffy was also sleeping.

"And then there was one." He laughed and turned the radio on but kept the music low.

* * *

And that was my version :) hope you enjoyed... reviews are always appreciated good and bad. The next Episode will be "Nightmare" the one where Sam starts finding out what is going on with him :)


	11. Nightmare

**Chapter 11**

**Nightmare**

_The night was pitch-black only the dim streetlights lit the small suburban street. A Sedan turned the corner into the street, the headlights brighter than the streetlights. The classic rock music blared out of the car even with all the windows shut the music was so clear that it could be heard from down the street. The Sedan turned another corner and drove into a garage connected to a big house. All the lights in the house were off except for the garage. The front of the house was flooded in bright light as the garage door started to open when the driver pressed the garage button on his keys. As the Sedan slowed to a halt the license plate came into view: MF6037. The male driver turned off the gas and started to gather things from the back seat. All of a sudden, the garage door started to close on its own and the car doors lock themselves. The key then turned in the ignition and the car roared into life. The man watched, confused, as the garage and the car began to fill with carbon monoxide. He started coughing wildly whilst trying to unlock the doors, which refused open. The man tried to shake the keys out of the ignition, but the car doesn't stop. Then the radio turned itself on and began trying to switch from station to station. As the car started to fill more and more with smoke the man tried to shake the keys out of the ignition again, but the key snapped off in his hand. Panicking, he used his jacket to cover the vents in the car, but the carbon monoxide continued to fill up the air around him._

_ "Help! Somebody, help me! Somebody, help!" the man screamed over the radio that wouldn't turn off as he pounded on the doors and windows. Then he collapsed over the front and passenger seat. Dead. _

A blinding flash of white light, and Sam burst awake. Images of the nightmare went through his mind, the license plate, the smoke in the garage and the man collapsing. He sat up on the couch in a panic. He looked over at Dean snoring in one bed and Buffy sleeping peacefully in the other.

Getting off the couch he turned on some lamps and shook his brother awake, "Dean." He then turned to Buffy and shook her too, "Buffy."

Dean groaned and slowly opened his eyes, adjusting to the bright light of the lamp beside him, and Buffy jumped awake and was already on full alert.

"What are you doing, man? It's the middle of the night." Dean whined as he rubbed his eyes and propped himself up on his elbows.

Sam was quickly throwing his clothes into a duffle bag and closed it, "We have to go."

"What's happening?" Buffy said a little sleepy but her brain was already waking up.

"We have to go. Right now." Sam said in a panic as he left the motel.

Dean slowly got out of bed while Buffy was already out and changing out of her pyjamas. "Has he lost his mind?" Dean groaned as he put on the pair of jeans he wore the day before.

Buffy was already dressed while Dean was still putting on his jeans, she ran her fingers through her hair to give it a quick brush and threw her pyjamas in the duffle she had kept underneath her bed – for once she was thankful that she hadn't unpacked straight away. "I don't know but whatever it is, it's serious." She stated as she threw the duffel over her shoulder and also went outside.

Dean grumbled as he threw a few of his clothes he'd worn back into his duffel, "Has everyone been taking crazy pills tonight?"

After checking out Dean eventually caught up with the pair who was stood by the Impala, Sam was tapping his foot impatiently; Dean jangled his keys in front of Sam and smiled, "You forgot something."

When they got on the highway Sam told Dean to head to Michigan and then explained his dream to Buffy and Dean while he looked through the fake ID box and pulled out a police badge and a notebook. Dean was driving fast but not as fast as Sam would like due to the heavy rain.

Sam wrote down the license plate he remembered and took out his cell and dialled a number, there was a long pause before Sam said, "McCreedy. Detective McCreedy, badge number 15A. And I've got a signal 480 in progress. I need the registered owner of a two-door Sedan, Michigan license plate: Mary, Frank, 6037… Yeah, okay, just hurry." Sam rolled his eyes and sighed irritably at the uselessness of the person on the other end.

"Sammy, relax. I'm sure it's just a nightmare." Dean tried to calm him down.

"Yeah, tell me about it." His brother spat as he moved the phone away from his mouth.

"No, I mean it. You know a normal, everyday, naked-in-class nightmare. This license plate, it won't check out, you'll see." He told him never taking his eyes off the road as he sped down the highway.

Sam shook his head, "It felt different, Dean. Real. Like when I dreamt about our old house and Jessica."

Buffy piped up from the back, "Well, yeah, that makes sense. You're dreaming about your house, your girlfriend. The guy that you dreamt about, have you ever seen him before?" she asked.

Sam pouted, "No."

Dean gave his brother a quick glance, "No, exactly. Why would you have premonitions about some random dude in Michigan?"

"I don't know."

"Me neither." Dean muttered.

Sam turned his attention back to the phone when someone spoke to him, "Yes, I'm here…" Sam looked at Dean with a pissed expression and started to write on the notepad, "Jim Miller. Saginaw, Michigan. You have a street address? Got it. Thanks." He wrote down the address and hung up, he looked at his brother stunned, "Checks out. How far are we?"

"From Saginaw?" his brother asked.

"Yeah."

"Couple hours."

Sam stared out the front window, "Drive faster."

Dean stepped on the gas and they sped away. Buffy quickly put on her seatbelt. She knew Dean was a good driver but with the heavy rain she wasn't taking any chances.

* * *

They arrived at the house within the hour due to Dean speeding through red lights and dodging the police cars that tried to chase them down in the process. When they arrived at Jim Millers house police cars and ambulances surrounded the house and most the street was filled with nearby residents watching the commotion. Sam's face turned to disappointment as they stopped beside the house to see paramedics in the garage putting a body in a body bag.

"That's him. The guy from my dream," Sam stated quietly, "We're too late."

They all got out of the car, "Let's spread out and find out as much as we can." Dean said and they all split up and blended themselves into the crowd.

Dean stood beside a woman who looked about ten years older than himself and asked her what had happened.

The woman shook her head sadly, "Suicide. I can't believe it."

When she said suicide Sam came up beside his brother and looked at her in shock, "Did you know him?"

The woman was staring past the house in a daze, she grabbed hold of her jacket and pulled it tighter around herself, "I saw him every Sunday at St. Augustine's. He always seems—seemed so normal. I guess you never know what's going on behind closed doors."

Dean sighed and watched as the paramedics put the body bag inside the coroners van, "Yeah, I guess not."

"How did—how are they saying it happened? " Sam asked. Dread filled his stomach hoping to hear he died another way than his dream.

The woman pointed towards the open garage, there were several police officers crowded inside the garage talking quickly and looking at their notes, "I heard they found him in the garage. Locked inside his car with the engine running." The woman's voice caught at the end and she started sobbing.

Dean and Sam looked each other and Sam almost burst into tears. When he and the woman were able to calm down Sam asked, "Do… Do you know about what time they found him?"

"Oh, it just happened about an hour or two ago. Oh, his poor family. I can't even imagine what they're going through."

They all look over towards the house where there was a middle aged woman sobbing to a police officer and a guy around Sam's age was lying on the grass crying. Sam shook his head and walked back to the car.

Buffy was already by the car sitting on the sidewalk.

"So I flirted with one of the officers who arrived first. He said it was a suicide. He locked himself inside the garage and left the engine running. There was nothing unusual about his death." She said as Sam sat down on the sidewalk beside her. He didn't say anything he just nodded his head. Buffy stroked her hand along his back and leaned in a little closer to him and gave him a half-hug, "I'm sorry Sam. I wish there was something I could do." She said softly.

Sam just sighed then gave her a little smile, "Thanks but I don't think this calls for your superpowers."

Dean was heading back to the car and looked at the pair sat on the sidewalk looking very intimate. Shaking his head he said, "Sam, we got here as fast as we could." He said as he unlocked the car.

Sam looked up at his brother and shook his head, "Not fast enough. It just doesn't make any sense, man. Why would I even have these premonitions, unless there was a chance that I could stop them from happening?" he sighed as he got up off the sidewalk.

Dean shrugged, "I don't know."

Buffy stood up and wiped the dirt from the sidewalk off her ass, "So, what do you think killed him?"

Dean snorted and shook his head at her, "Maybe the guy just killed himself. You know, maybe there's nothing supernatural going on at all." He said moodily as he opened the driver side door.

Buffy frowned at Dean's sudden coldness towards her. What had happened in the space of five minutes for him to be upset?

Sam put his hands on the hood of the car and glared at his brother, "I'm telling you, I watched it happen. He was murdered by something, Dean. It trapped him in the garage."

"Well, what? A spirit, a poltergeist, what?" Dean asked throwing his arms out dramatically.

Sam shrugged, "I don't know what it was. I don't know why I'm having these dreams, I don't know what the hell is happening, Dean." Seeing Dean staring at him he asked, "What?"

"Nothing, man, I'm just worried about you."

Sam glared, "Well, don't look at me like that."

Dean smiled, "I'm not lookin' at you like anything. Though I gotta say, you look like crap."

Sam opened the car door, "Nice. Thanks." He spat.

"Yeah, well—Come on; let's just pick this up in the morning. We'll check out the house, we'll talk to the family." The older brother explained.

Buffy opened the door to the back of the car, "Dean, you saw them, they're devastated. They're not gonna want talk to us."

"Yeah, you're right. But I think I know who they will talk to." He replied with a grin.

Buffy frowned, "Who?"

Dean chuckled, "You'll see." Was all he said as he got inside the car and started the engine.

* * *

Dean drove them to the closest motel from the Millers home which was about a thirty minute drive. It was close to town and had everything they needed, clothes shops for Buffy, a library for Sam and of course a bar and a fast food joint for Dean. Dean left Buffy and Sam to get their things while he checked them all in. A few minutes later, just after Sam took out the last bag from the trunk Dean came back with 2 keys. "One room for us and one for you," Dean said as he held out a key for Buffy but as she was about to take it he pulled it back, "That is if you don't want to share with us. I'm sure Sammy will let you sleep in his bed." He said in a tone that neither Buffy nor Sam could place so Buffy just smiled took the key.

"No thanks. One night with you two is enough. I don't know what's worse, your snoring or Sam's gas." She laughed as she made her way to her room.

Sam smiled and said goodnight to Buffy and when she closed her door he turned to Dean. "What was that all about?" he asked as he shifted some of the bags on his shoulder.

Dean pulled a face, "What?" he asked as he locked the car and made his way to their room next to Buffy's

"'I'm sure Sammy will let you sleep in his bed'" Sam replied in his best Dean voice as he followed his brother.

Dean laughed as he opened the door to their room, "One, that does not sound like me and two… you know exactly what I meant." He finished when they were inside the room and the door was closed.

Sam threw the bags onto the nearest bed and turned to his brother with a frown, "Dean, what the hell are you going on about?"

Dean stared at his brother for a moment then raised his brow in surprise and just smiled, "You know what, forget it." He answered, throwing the room key on the table and putting his bags onto the floor. "Seen as how you woke me so God-damned early I'm going back to bed." He announced and threw Sam's bags onto the other bed and just flopped down onto his bed and shut his eyes.

Sam didn't know if he was actually asleep or just ignoring him every time he called his name but eventually gave up and took a nap too.

* * *

The next morning Buffy was woken to repeated knocks on her door. Throwing the door open Dean was stood there with his hand in the air and a suit bag. "Finally, I've been knocking for ages." Dean said when she answered.

Buffy was barely able to recognise him through her sleepy eyes, "What do you want?" she yawned while she rubbed sleep out of her eyes.

"Oh, yeah, this is for you." He held out the suit bag and she took it suspiciously.

"Where's Sam?" Buffy asked a little more awake now.

Dean didn't answer for a moment, he just smiled and scratched the back of his neck, "He's – uh – getting dressed now hurry up and do the same. We're leaving for the Millers in five." He told her and walked back to his room.

Buffy closed the door and opened the suit bag. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head at what was inside.

Within half an hour all three were stood on the doorstep of the Miller's house, both Buffy and Sam wore the same pissed expression as they both stood there with Dean dressed as people from the church; both Dean and Sam dressed as Ministers; both wore black suits with the white collar and Buffy was dressed as a Sister; wearing a long grey cotton skirt, a matching grey sweater with a white shirt on underneath and even the grey and white veil worn over her head so only her face could be seen. This was not how Buffy thought she would be spending her morning.

"I cannot believe you are making me wear this!" She said through gritted teeth.

Sam nodded and sighed, "Yeah, This has got to be a whole new low for us."

Dean just smiled and rang the doorbell. Within seconds the door was opened by a man around the same age as the deceased Jim Miller.

Dean spoke up first, "Good afternoon. I'm Father Simmons, this is Father Frehley. We're new junior priests over at St. Augustine's." he started to say, pointing to himself and Sam in the process, he then pointed to Buffy, "Oh and this is Sister Holly. She's new. May we come in?" when the man nodded his head Dean smiled, "Thanks."

When they all stepped inside Sam turned to the man, "We're very sorry for your loss." He said as the man was closing the door behind them

"It's in difficult times like these when the Lord's guidance is most needed." Dean preached. It took all of Buffy's will not to start laughing.

The man turned to Dean with a scowl, "Look, if you wanna pitch your whole Lord-has-a-plan thing, fine. But don't pitch it to me. My brother is dead."

"Roger, please." Yelled a woman from down the hall. When they turned to look they recognised her as the wife of Jim Miller.

Roger didn't even look at them as he excused himself and left them to go back to the wake.

Ms Miller came over to the two priests and the nun in her hallway, "I'm sorry about my brother-in-law. He's just so upset about Jim's death. Would you like some coffee?" she asked them.

Dean smiled, "That'd be great."

They all followed Ms Miller through to the living room where she already had a large coffee pot made and a handful of cups.

Buffy and Dean sat on the couch while Sam sat on a chair. She poured everyone a cup of coffee and handed them out.

"It was wonderful of you to stop by. The support of the church means so much right now." She said as she gave them all their cups.

Dean smiled, "Of course. After all, we are all God's children."

Both Buffy and Sam looked at him strangely as someone called for Ms Miller and she excused herself for a moment. Once she was gone Dean examined the platter of mini hotdogs on cocktail sticks on the table and took one hungrily. Sam scoffed at his brother's greediness to which Dean frowned, "What?" Dean asked through a mouthful of hotdog.

"Just tone it down a little bit, Father." Sam said and he and Buffy shared a smile just as Ms Miller came back and sat down.

"Sorry about that. More people with more food." She apologised as she sat beside Buffy.

"So, Ms Miller," Dean said with his mouthful, "did your husband have a history of depression?" he asked as he swallowed the hotdog.

Ms Miller shook her head, "Nothing like that. We had our ups and downs, like everyone. But we were happy." Her voice hitched at the end and she began to cry, "I just don't understand how Jim could do something like that." She sobbed.

Buffy put a hand on her arm and spoke softly, "I'm so sorry you had to find him like that."

Ms Miller pulled out a tissue from her pocket and dabbed it on her eyes to dry the tears, when she calmed down she shook her head and looked at Buffy, "Actually, our son, Max—he was the one who found him." She replied and gestured over to the other side of the room where a young boy was sat looking distant.

"Do you mind if maybe I go talk to him?" Sam asked.

Ms Miller smiled happily, "Oh, thank you, Father." She said gratefully and Sam smiled back as he got up and moved over to the boy.

Dean picked up a box of tissues off the table and handed them to Buffy, who in turn gave a tissue to Ms Miller.

"Ms Miller, you have a lovely home. How long have you lived here?" Dean asked as he looked around.

The middle aged widow took the tissue from Buffy and used the fresh one for her eyes, "We moved in about five years ago." She answered.

Dean smiled a little, "Hm. You know, the only problem with these old houses—I bet you have all kinds of headaches."

Ms Miller looked confused, "Like what?"

"Well, weird leaks. Electrical shortages. Odd settling noises at night, that kind of thing." Dean explained.

Ms Miller laughed a little, "No, nothing like that. It's been perfect." She smiled.

Dean seemed to ponder her answer, "Hm." After a little pause he smiled at the widow, "Can I use your restroom?" he asked.

Ms Miller nodded and pointed to the stairs outside the living room, "Oh, sure. It's just up the stairs."

"Okay." He said as he got up and headed to the stairs, taking another hotdog as he passed.

When he was gone Ms Miller turned to Buffy, "So you're new to the Church?"

Buffy smiled and nodded, "Yeah... I uh… had some trouble in the past and recently found my calling." She lied.

Ms Miller nodded then started to laugh, "It must be hard learning to become a nun and having to see those two every day." She giggled.

Buffy laughed and looked over at Sam and shook her head, "Yeah, some days are harder than others." She said a little honestly, some days she wanted to kill Dean and other days she just wanted to kiss him again.

Ms Miller bumped Buffy's arm with her shoulder and when Buffy looked at her she smiled, "Must be fun though…"

"What?"

Ms Miller looked over at Sam who had just started to walk away from Max and was heading for the stairs, "Knowing that him and the other one like you so much." When she saw Buffy's shocked expression and she started shaking her head she said, "I may be old, but I'm not blind. I see how they both look at you. And I see how you look at them. You like them both though the shorter one more… I myself prefer taller men."

Buffy couldn't help but laugh at the last part, she looked over at the stairs and saw the pair coming down looking not so happy, "Yeah, well, there's only room for one man in my life right now" she said with a smile and she rubbed at the small cross at her neck, this was the only thing she was wearing that was actually her own.

Ms Miller smiled, "I think that's a good idea."

Dean and Sam came back into the room and Dean gave Ms Miller a nod, "Right we should be heading back to Church."

Both Buffy and Ms Miller got up and they shook hands, "Thank you for coming to see me. I appreciate the visit."

Buffy smiled, "Thank you for letting us into your home."

They all said goodbye and they let themselves out. As soon as they were in the car Buffy ripped off the veil and smoothed out her hair, "I can't believe I just impersonated a nun!"

Dean was laughing as he was removing the white collar from his shirt, "Will you chill… If it helps you make a hot Nun."

Buffy glared at him in the rear-view mirror, "No. That doesn't help."

Sam turned in his seat to look at her; he'd also removed the white collar and had unbuttoned a few buttons on his shirt, "Are you okay Buffy?"

Buffy sighed, "No… that woman was so nice." She said sadly, "We need to find out what happened here."

Dean turned on the engine, "Well there were no EMF readings in the house so it's not a ghost."

"Yeah and Max told me that he woke up and heard the engine running. It doesn't sound like a ghost either but…" Sam trailed off.

Buffy nodded, "You have a feeling." She stated more than asked, when he nodded she said, "I have it too."

Dean snorted, "Oh well why don't you two marry each other." He said as he started to drive off.

Sam and Buffy looked at Sam with shock. They both asked him what he was going on about but he just ignored them all the way back to their motel.

* * *

When they got back to the motel Buffy caught Dean before he went into his room and she pulled him into hers.

"What the hell is going on with you today?" she asked when she shut the door.

Dean was walking around her room as he spoke, "I don't know what you're talking about." he said as he stopped by her wardrobe and picked up a pair of red lace panties, "So is red your favourite colour?"

Buffy walked over to him and snatched the pants out of his hands and threw them onto her bed, "Stop changing the subject, Dean. Just tell me what I've done or haven't done to annoy you so much."

Dean looked at her for a long moment, "I don't need this crap," he said, pushed his way past her and made his way to the door but Buffy was quicker and wedged herself between Dean and the exit.

"If I have to beat the answer out of you I will." She said when Dean went to push her out the way.

Dean said nothing for a while, "its Sam." He finally spoke.

Buffy crossed her arms, "Sam? But-"

Dean was moving around the room as he spoke, "You and Sam. I saw you both outside the Millers looking cosy and cute and all hot for each other." Buffy started to laugh and Dean stopped to glare at her, "What's so funny?"

"There's nothing going on between Sam and me." She stated and moved closer to him. "We're just friends, Dean. Sam's still in love with Jessica. And I…"

Dean's mouth twitched, "You what?"

Buffy could feel Dean's breath against her face; her lips were barely millimetres from his own. If she tiptoed she'd be kissing him right now. "Sam and I are just friends. Nothing more." She said softly, "You don't need to worry."

Dean leant in closely and Buffy could feel his arm moving around to her side, she closed her eyes expecting his lips on hers in seconds but instead she heard the click of the doorknob. When she opened her eyes Dean wasn't really looking at her.

"I wasn't worried." He said coldly and opened the door, pushing her out the way as he did so and slammed it shut behind him. Buffy slapped her hand on the door when it was shut behind her and she shouted obscenities hoping he'd hear them as he went back to his room.

* * *

Buffy didn't talk to either of them the rest of the day. She figured Sam would be finding out as much as he could on Jim Miller and his family and Dean would probably be drinking beers and getting laid. No, Buffy wasn't pissed off with him at all! She didn't care that Dean was cold towards her. Why would she? Buffy decided Dean must need a little break from her and so she ignored them for the rest of the day, she kept her door locked and ignored their knocks or calls. Buffy decided she'd have a pampering day, she hadn't really spent much alone time with herself since… well before she died, and so it was long overdue.

The boys seemed to understand she didn't want anyone annoying her and eventually gave up knocking on her door or calling her cell. Buffy was actually able to have a bath in peace, something she doesn't think she's been able to have since before she found her Calling as a Slayer, and soaked herself until she started to prune. For the first time in a good few years Buffy was able to pretty herself up; she had time to actually dry her hair and style properly rather than letting it dry naturally and letting it frizz all over her head; she changed into some pyjama shorts and a tank top and lay on her bed surrounded by her now very small makeup collection. She picked out a pastel pink nail varnish and began painting her toe nails. She was halfway through her second foot when she heard crashing and yelling coming from Sam and Dean's room next door. Closing the polish bottle she listened carefully; she could hear Sam crying out on pain and Dean shouting his brother's name over and over again. Buffy had enough time to throw on a pair of jeans, a jacket and slip her bare, still wet polished feet into sneakers, grab her key and leave her room as Dean left his room half carrying his brother.

"What-"

"He had another one." Dean said quickly, "Help me to the car."

Buffy went around the other side of Sam and threw his arm over her shoulder, "Let him go. I got it." She said. Dean let go of his brother and Buffy supported Sam. Even though she was much smaller than him, her head barely reached his chest, she was still able to easily walk him towards the Impala. Buffy rushed him to the car as fast as she could while Dean sprinted to his car and started it up.

Buffy carefully helped him inside and she climbed into the back seat, her ass barely touched the seat when Dean sped out of the parking lot.

As they drove Dean told Buffy that Roger, Mr Miller's brother, was in danger while Sam called up pretending to be a cop to get his address.

Sam had his head leant on the window, his colour was gone from his face, he was so pale and barely able to keep his eyes open, "Roger Miller." He said groggily through the phone, "No, no, just the address, please." He waited a few minutes, "Okay. Thanks." He hung up and put the cell on the dashboard, he looked at his brother, "450 West Grove, Apartment 1120."

Dean nodded and sped up now he knew where he was going.

Buffy leant over and rubbed Sam's shoulder, "You okay?"

Sam sighed lightly, "Yeah." His voice sounded a little stronger than a few seconds ago.

Dean occasionally looked over at his brother as he drove, "If you're gonna hurl, I'll pull the car over, you know, 'cause the upholstery-"

"I'm fine."

"Alright."

"Just drive."

"Alright." Dean repeated.

Sam let out a frustrated sigh, "Dean, I'm scared, man. These nightmares weren't bad enough, now I'm seeing' things when I'm awake? And these visions, or whatever, they're getting more intense. And painful."

"Come on, man, it'll be alright. You'll be fine." Dean kept his eyes on the road.

"What is it about the Millers? Why am I connected to them? Why am I watching them die?" there was a long awkward pause before Sam spoke again, "Why the hell is this happening to me?"

"I don't know." Dean sighed.

"Sam, we'll figure it out, okay?" Buffy said softly and gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"We face the unexplainable every single day, this is just another thing." Dean said trying to sound comforting. Though Sam didn't look any better.

"No. It's never been us. It's never been in the family like this. Tell the truth, you can't tell me this doesn't freak you out."

There was a long pause before his brother answered, "This doesn't freak me out." He lied.

There was a long silence until Buffy spoke up, she rested her chin on the back of Dean's seat and she kept her eyes on Sam, "Look, from experience, every vision I've had has meant something. It might not make any sense to me or I didn't know it meant anything until it happened. So if you're having these visions asleep and awake then there's a reason for it. You just don't know the connection yet. But you will soon enough." She explained.

Sam smiled slightly, "Thanks." Sam turned his gaze away from Buffy and looked down the street and spotted Roger walking with grocery bags. "Dean, stop!" he said and pointed to Roger.

"Hey, Roger!" Sam shouted through Dean's open window as Dean slowed the car.

"Hey, hold up a second." Dean shouted at the same time.

Roger stopped and recognised them as the priests from the wake and sighed, "What are you guys, missionaries? Leave me alone." He yelled and carried on walking to his apartment.

"Please!" Sam yelled as Dean pulled over to the side of the road. As soon as Dean stopped the car they all quickly jumped out and ran towards the apartment building Roger was entering.

Somehow Sam had found enough energy to beat them to the door, "Hey, Roger, we're trying' to help! Please! Hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!" Roger slammed the door and locked it.

"I don't want your help." Roger yelled through the glass and walked away.

Sam shook the door as Dean and Buffy caught up, "We're not priests! You've gotta listen to us!"

"Roger, you're in danger!" Dean yelled. Roger never came back.

Buffy lifted a leg to kick in the glass of the front door when Dean stopped her; He grabbed her arm and pulled her around the back, "Come on! Come on, come on!" he said as he ran to the alley beside the building. The gate to get into the alley was shut. Dean lifted his foot to kick it in but Buffy beat him to it and the metal gate flew off its hinges and skated halfway down the alley.

Dean looked at her with raised brows and she merely shrugged, "Well you wouldn't let me kick the front door in." she stated and then followed Sam down the narrow alley. There was an industrial trashcan right in front of the fire escape, which Buffy was used to so she was able to jump it easily, but she liked to show off her skills to the Winchesters to show she's not as girly as she makes out to be. She took a run and jump onto the wire fence the other side then did another jump onto the trashcan and then a backward flip and grabbed hold of the fire escape and pulled herself onto the fire escape stairs. She was already halfway up when the boys had jumped the trashcan and started up the fire escape stairs. Buffy was high enough to see Roger Miller with his head out of his window, she called his name as she ran up the stairs but it was too late, Buffy saw the window crash down and slice right through Roger Miller's neck. Decapitating him. Blood shot everywhere, some even splattered on her face and top. Dean and Sam finally reach her and see the mess on the window and knew they were too late. Dean rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a couple of handkerchiefs and handed them to Sam and Buffy.

"Here, start wiping down your fingerprints, we don't want the cops to know we were here. Go, go. Come on."

Buffy took one and wiped the blood from her face before wiping down the railing, Sam also took one and started wiping down the other railing.

"Wait here. I'm gonna take a look inside." Dean said and opened the other window by the fire escape that went into Roger's home and climbed in.

Sam looked over at the bloody window and grimaced. Buffy watched him, "We tried Sam."

Sam shook his head and started back down the stairs, wiping the railing as he went, "We didn't try hard enough."

Buffy followed him back down, wiping the railing as she went. They both waited for Dean by the trashcan in silence. Both not knowing what to say.

Dean eventually came back down. He looked at Sam apologetically when he reached them at the trashcan, "It was clean." Was all he said as he walked back up the alley.

Sam looked at his brother in shock, there was clearly something, Sam could feel it. "What do you mean clean? There must've been something in there!" Sam said when he reached his brother. Buffy was trailing behind them.

Dean exited they alley as he spoke, "I'm telling' you, there was nothing in there. There are no signs either, just like the Millers' house." He said as he crossed the road to the Impala.

Sam angrily put his hands into his jacket pocket, "I saw something in the vision, like a dark shape. Something was stalking Roger."

"Well, whatever it was, we can be sure it's not connected to their house." Dean stated the obvious.

"So it's connected to the family itself." Buffy said.

"So, what do you think we got? A vengeful spirit?" Sam asked as they reached the car.

Dean nodded slightly, "Yeah, there's a few that have been known to latch onto families, follow 'em for years." He said and opened the door.

"Yeah, like banshees." Sam said,

They all got inside and Dean spoke up again when they shut the doors, "Basically like a curse. So, maybe Roger and Jim Miller got involved in something heavy. Something curse-worthy."

"And now something's out for revenge. And the men in their family are dying." Sam said.

Buffy thought for a second, "Hey, you think the Max is in danger?"

Dean shrugged, "Let's figure it out before he is." He answered, starting the car.

"Well, I know one thing I have in common with these people." Sam said.

Dean looked at his brother, "What's that?"

Sam laughed, "Both our families are cursed."

Dean pulled a face, "Our family's not cursed. We just….had our dark spots." He corrected.

Sam laughed, "Our dark spots are pretty dark."

Dean looked back at the road, "You're—dark." He argued as he drove back to the motel.

* * *

Buffy was sat in the back seat of the Impala waiting for Sam and Dean to finish talking with Max. They, well Dean, decided it would probably be easier to get answers from Max if there wasn't a girl around to get him flustered. Not that it bothered Buffy much; it meant that she didn't have to dress up as a nun again unlike Sam and Dean who both wore their preacher garb like the last time. Dean left his leather jacket on the back seat, he never went anywhere without it as it had his father's journal in the inside pocket…

The journal…

Buffy rummaged through Dean's jacket till she found the pocket with the journal and flipped through the pages. It was mostly newspaper clippings, sometimes with drawings or Latin phrases. There was a page on everything from ghosts to demons to Wendigo's… though she didn't find any vampire pages in here which she found funny as that's what she spent most her life killing. As she flipped through the pages she flipped to a printed webpage which had a word she was far too familiar with:_ Boca Del Inferno: Mouth of Hell._ She knew the article was about Sunnydale before she'd even read anymore of the page. It was a small article on how Sunnydale was created by Spanish settlers and how it was home to some Supernatural occurrences. There was a small note in the side of the webpage that read in messy writing: "Never enter. Protected." Which so Sam and Dean probably meant Hunters but clearly their father knew that Buffy was protecting Sunnydale.

She didn't read anymore of the article, she didn't want her mind to go back to Sunnydale; she didn't want to think what was happening right now. Were they okay, if they're even still alive? Sometimes at night she'd have a dream that her a Willow were back in the school library and Buffy would be telling her all about Sam and Dean and Willow would be telling her they were still alive but missed her and wanted her to come home. Buffy didn't want to upset herself with 'what ifs' and flipped a few more pages. At the end of the journal there was a picture sat inside a small pocket on the leather inside. Pulling it out she saw a family photo: a man and a woman stood outside a house with a toddler and a baby. She could tell by the eyes of the man that this was their father. They were the same deep green as Dean's. The family in the picture looked so happy. They clearly never thought their lives would end up like this.

The sound of a door shutting startled her and Buffy looked up to see Sam and Dean walking back to the car. She quickly put the journal back inside the jacket and gave them a smile as they came towards the car. They, on the other hand, didn't look pleased at all. Clearly this is more complicated than she thought it would be.

"How'd it go?" Buffy asked when they got in the car.

"Not great. Max is hiding something." Sam replied.

"We're gonna head out to their old place, see if the neighbours remember anything." Dean said as he started the car, "But first I'm gonna change."

While they changed Buffy looked up their previous address and the boys seemed very surprised that she could find it. Luckily they didn't move very far so only took them a few miles out of town.

* * *

The houses in the town looked very suburban and well kept, very quiet looking. Dean parked across the street from the house the Miller's used to live in and luckily there was a man outside in the garden by the Impala doing a spot of gardening.

As they got out the car Sam spoke up to the man, "Excuse me, have you lived in the neighbourhood very long?"

The man stopped digging in his garden and nodded "Yeah, almost twenty years now. It's nice and quiet. Why, you lookin' to buy?"

Sam shook his head, "No, no, actually, we were just wondering if you might recall a family that used to live right across the street, I believe." He gestured towards the house behind him.

"Yeah, the Millers. They had a little boy named Max." Dean stated.

The man looked a little sad as he nodded, "Yeah, I remember. The brother had the place next door." He pointed across the street to the house next to the Miller's old house, "So, uh, what's this about? That poor kid okay?"

Buffy frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Well, in my life, I've never seen a child treated like that. I mean, I'd hear Mr Miller yelling' and throwing' things clear across the street. He was a mean drunk. He used to beat the tar out of Max. Bruises—broke his arm two times that I know of."

"And this was going on regularly?" Sam asked.

The guy nodded, "Practically every day." Sam turned away for a second with a disgusted look on his face, "In fact, that thug brother of his was just as likely to take a swing at the boy, but the worst part was the stepmother. She'd just stand there, checked out, and never lifted a finger to protect him. I must have called the police seven or eight times, never did any good."

"Now, you said stepmother." Dean commented.

"I think his real mom died. Some sort of accident—a car accident, I think." The man was distracted by Sam, who was clutching at his temple and struggling to breathe, "Are you okay, there?"

"Yeah." Sam gasped and turned back to the car. Buffy grabbed his arm to steady him.

"Thanks for your time." Dean smiled and turned away,

"Yeah, thank you." Buffy smiled sweetly as she walked away with Sam. Sam stopped when he was by the car and stared out into the street, if Buffy and Dean didn't know he was having a vision they'd think he was high. Then as if nothing had happened he turned back to them with fear, "It's Max!" He yelled and got inside the car.

Buffy and Dean gave each other a "What the f-" look and got inside the car too.

* * *

There was a short silence as they drove back to the Miller's.

Sam broke the eerie silence, "Max is doing it. Everything I've been seeing." His voice sad and shaking his head like he was foolish not to see it before.

"You sure about this?" His brother asked as he watched the road even though he had that same gut feeling that Sam was right.

"Yeah, I saw him." Sam pressed his hand against his forehead, the pain from the vision still at his temple.

"How is he doing it?" Buffy thought out loud.

"I don't know. It looked like telekinesis."

Dean glanced as his brother, "So, he's psychic? He's a spoon-bender?"

"I didn't even realize it, but this whole time he was there. He was outside of the garage when his dad died; he was in the apartment when his uncle died. These visions, this whole time, I wasn't connecting to the Millers, I was connecting to Max. The thing I don't get is why, man? I guess because we're so alike?"

Leaning on the back of Dean's seat Buffy looked at Sam, "What are you talking about?"

Dean looked at his brother again, "Yeah, the dude's nothing like you." He said as he changed gears and sped up.

Sam tried to think if a connection between them, "Well, we both have psychic abilities. We're both-"

Dean cut him off, "Both what? Sam, Max is a monster. He's already killed two people, and now he's gunning' for a third."

Sam shook his head, "Well, with what he went through—the beatings. To want revenge on those people, I'm sorry, man, I hate to say it, but it's not that insane."

"Yeah, but it doesn't justify murdering your entire family." Buffy snorted, finding Sam's answer stupid. She couldn't fathom ever killing her own family no matter how much they hurt her.

Sam started to defend Max to Buffy but Dean shut him up, "He's no different than anything else we've hunted. Alright, we've gotta end him." He stated as he pulled over

"We're not gonna kill Max." Sam argued.

Dean left the engine running, "Then what? I hand him over to the cops and say, "Lock him up, officer, he kills with the power of his mind.""

"Forget it. No way, man."

"Sam-"

"Dean. He's a person. We can talk to him. Hey, promise me you'll follow my lead on this one." Sam begged.

Dean shut off the engine and thought for a moment.

"He's right Dean. We've killed a lot of monsters but… he's just an angry kid." Buffy spoke up her voice soft and filled with compassion, thinking of her own sister and how she would feel if it was Dawn in Max's shoes, she wouldn't be able to kill her… not if she could save her.

Dean sighed, he hated it when Buffy and Sam ganged up on him, and he looked over at his brother, "Alright, fine. But I'm not letting' him hurt anybody else." He said and reached into his glove compartment, pulled out his favourite gun and got out the car. They all rushed to the front door in hopes Sam's vision hadn't already happened. Dean didn't waste any time in kicking the front door open.

Ms Miller was still alive and was staring at the three of them with confusion. "Fathers?"

A blood shot and teary eyed Max was looking at them with guilt. "What are you doing here?"

Dean smiled, "Uh, sorry to interrupt."

Buffy could see Max inching towards the huge knife on the kitchen counter. She was getting ready to strike.

"Max, could we, uh—could we talk to you outside for just one second?" Sam asked politely.

"About what?"

"It's—it's private. I wouldn't want to bother your mother with it. We won't be long at all, though. I promise." Sam replied.

They watch Max look over at his step mother and contemplate. Eventually he looked back at Sam, "Okay."

Sam gave him a convincing smile, "Great."

They all started to walk back out the front door but when Max froze and his face changed Buffy stiffened at looked in the mirror that Max was staring at. She could see the gun poking out of Dean's jeans. All of a sudden everything quickened. As Dean opened the door it slammed shut again as did all the windows inside. Dean went for his gun.

Max was taking a few steps back as he yelled, "You're not priests!" all the windows still shutting behind them.

Dean pointed his gun at Max but it was pulled out of his hand and it skidded along the floor to Max's feet... Taking the gun from the floor he pointed it to Sam, Dean and Buffy.

Max's step mother looked on in shock, "Max, what's happening?"

"Shut up!" His eyes never left Sam.

Buffy slowly inched herself more and more towards the kitchen, not making any sharp movements for Max to see, all the while keeping up her 'battle stance' ready to fight back.

Ms Miller yelled again at her step son, "What are you doing?"

Max jerked his head towards the kitchen and his step mother was thrown into the kitchen counter hitting the corner with her forehead, she lay limply and unresponsive on the floor.

"I said shut up!" Max yelled as she was thrown.

Buffy forgot all niceties then and ran straight for the nicest woman she'd met in a long time. This however got her thrown into the kitchen. Before she could hit the top of the counter she caught the edges with one hand and twisted herself so her legs went around the counter and she dropped back onto the floor beside Ms Miller and examined her head injury.

Max was looking at Buffy with confusion as Sam told him to calm down. The boy looked from Buffy to Sam and Dean and yelled, "Who are you?"

Sam held up his hands, "We just want to talk to you." He said calmly.

"Yeah, right, that's why you brought this!" Max screamed and waved the gun at them.

"That was a mistake, alright? So was lying about who we were, but no more lying, Max, okay? Just, please—just hear me out." Sam pleaded.

"About what?"

"I saw you do it. I saw you kill your dad and your uncle before it happened." San told him.

"What?"

"I'm having visions, Max. About you."

"You're crazy." Max almost laughed. Dean refrained from jumping on the kid then and there and pummelling him.

"So, you weren't gonna launch a knife at your stepmom?" Sam pointed to his right eye, "Right here? Is it that hard to believe, Max? Look what you can do. Max, I was drawn here, alright? I think I'm here to help you."

Max looked over at Buffy who was trying to wake up his step mother and he looked back at Sam, "No one can help me!"

"Let me try. We'll just talk. Me and you. We'll get Dean, Buffy Alice out of here."

"Nuh-uh. No way." Dean piped up not taking his eyes from Max and his gun.

The light fixture above their heads started to shake, "Nobody leaves this house!" Max screamed.

"And nobody has to, alright? They'll just—they'll just go upstairs." Sam tried an alternative.

"Sam, I'm not leavin' you alone with him." Dean spat.

Buffy looked over at the Winchesters, "Me either," she agreed, she turned back to Ms Miller and tried to wake her again.

Sam leant close to his brother "Yes, you are. Both of you," he said quietly, he knew Buffy could hear him with her expert hearing, "Look, Max, you're in charge here, alright? We all know that. No one's gonna do anything that you don't want to, but I'm talking' five minutes here, man."

"Sam" Dean protested again but his brother held out a finger.

Max looked over at his step mother again. Buffy looked up at Max, "We have to treat this wound Max, please."

Max looked back at Sam, "Five minutes." The lighting above them stopped shaking, "Go." He said to Dean.

Dean moved over to Buffy in the kitchen.

"Help me get her up." Buffy said as she wrapped her arm around Ms Miller's waist and Dean put her arm over his shoulders and they both pulled her up off the floor. She groaned in response and Buffy instantly felt a little more relaxed knowing she wasn't in a coma or anything. They both helped her over to the stairs but they stopped just at the bottom and they shared a look with Sam.

"Be careful." Buffy spoke softly to which he nodded.

Max listened to them as they headed up the stairs, hearing them go into his step mothers room he slammed the bedroom door shut and no matter how much Dean tried he couldn't get it open.

Punching the door Dean grunted a few choice words before pacing the bedroom, "I swear to God if that kid hurts Sam it's the last thing he'll do."

Buffy was in the small bathroom that joined with the bedroom looking for anything to help with the head wound. Luckily there was a first aid kit underneath the sink.

Coming back into the bedroom Buffy sat beside Ms Miller on the bed and opened up the kit, "Sam knows what he's doing. Trust him, Dean. I do." She said as she poured some antiseptic liquid onto a cotton pad and wiped away the blood around the wound. She apologised when Ms Miller flinched.

"Of course I trust him… it's… Max I don't trust. That kid has one too many screws loose." Dean said, finally stopped wearing out the carpet by the door from his pacing and sat down on the small chair next to the make-up dresser.

* * *

Sam was sat in the living room on the sofa across from Max not knowing how to start his conversation. All he knew was he had to get him to calm down so nobody else would get hurt. He watched as Max moved the letter opener on the table beside Sam and stands it upright all with his mind. Max kept hold of the gun but was no longer pointing it as he sat in the chair, he just kept his eyes on the letter opener.

"Look, I can't begin to understand what you went through." Sam started.

Max continued to look at the letter opener "That's right, you can't."

"Max, this has to stop." Sam said softly.

"It will. After my stepmother."

"No. You need to let her go."

"Why?" the letter opener began to spin on its tip when Max started to distress again.

"Did she beat you?"

Max choked back a sob, "No. But she never tried to save me; she's a part of it, too."

"Look, what they did to you, what they all did to you, growing up—they deserve to be punished."

Max turned to look at Sam, the letter opener still spinning, "Growing up? Try last week." Seeing the confusion on Sam's face he stood up and lifted his shirt and hoodie. There were deep dark purple bruises all up his side, along with multiple cuts and scars, "My dad still hit me, just in places people wouldn't see it. Old habits die hard, I guess." Sam couldn't look at his bruised body; it made him feel sick to think someone could do this to their son. Max let go of his shirt and sat back down.

Sam didn't even know how to respond to the news. All he could do was apologise.

He watched as the letter opener started to spin faster while Max talked.

"When I first found out I could move things, it was a gift. My whole life I was helpless. But now I had this. So, last week, Dad gets drunk—first time in a long time. And he beats me to hell—first time in a long time. And then I knew what I had to do."

"Why didn't you just leave?" Sam asked.

The letter opener stopped moving and fell over on the table and Sam jumped.

"It wasn't about getting away—just knowing that they'd still be out there. It was about not being afraid. When my dad used to look at me, there was hate in his eyes. Do you know what that feels like?" Max sobbed.

Sam thought about his own father for a second. Yes he was a hard bastard but he never raised a hand to him or Dean. "No." he whispered his answer.

"He blamed me for everything. For his job, for his life, for my mom's death."

Sam was confused, "Why would he blame you for your mom's death?"

Max leant forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Because she died in my nursery. While I was asleep in my crib. As if that makes it my fault." Max was almost laughing at the audacity it sounded.

Sam's eyes grew wide and he almost couldn't speak, "She died in your nursery?"

Max nodded, "Yeah. There was a fire. And he'd get drunk and babble on like she died in some insane way. He said that she burned up. Pinned to the ceiling."

Sam now found their connection. He just didn't know why.

"Listen to me, Max. What your dad said about what happened to your mom—it's real." Sam said.

"What?"

Sam tried to explain as quickly as he could. "It happened to my mom, too. Exactly the same—my nursery, my crib. My dad saw her on the ceiling."

"Then your dad must have been as drunk as mine."

"No. No, it's the same thing, Max. The same thing killed our mothers."

"That's not possible."

Sam started to think out loud, "This must be why I've been having visions during the day. Why they're getting more intense. 'Cause you and I must be connected in some way. Your abilities—they started six, seven months ago, right? Out of the blue?"

Max swallowed a cry, "How'd you know that?"

"Because that's when my abilities started, Max. I mean, yours seem to be much further along, but still, this—this means something, right? I mean, for some reason, you and I—you and I were chosen."

"For what?"

Sam shook his head, "I don't know. But Dean and I—my brother and I, we're hunting for your mom's killer. And we can find answers. Answers that can help us both. But you gotta let us go. You gotta let your stepmother go."

Max thought for a few seconds but his face grew cold and his lips quivered as he shook his head

"No. What they did to me—I still have nightmares! I'm still scared all the time, like I'm just waiting for their next beating! I'm just tired of being scared. If I do this, it'll be over!" Max got up and started going for the stairs to end his suffering but Sam ran in front of him and cut him up.

Sam took hold of Max's arms, "No, don't you get it? It won't. The nightmares won't end, Max, not like this. It's just more pain. And it makes you as bad as them. Max, you don't have to go through all this by yourself."

Sam let go of Max and hoped he would see reason and let them all go.

"I'm sorry." Max said softly.

Sam only had a moment to frown before he was thrown into the closet under the stairs and the door snapped shut. Sam heard something move and stop in front of the door so he couldn't escape.

"No! No, Max! No! Max!" Sam repeatedly yelled and slammed his hands onto the closet door. Suddenly his headache was back tenfold and he felt himself fall back into the closet as his vision changed to something he couldn't ever contemplate ever happening.

* * *

Buffy was the one pacing now while Dean helped clean up Ms Miller. Buffy was never good at patching other people up only herself, also she could vaguely hear everything going on downstairs. She knew Sam and Max had been at the bottom of the stairs as their voices were a little louder and she could hear one of them coming up the stairs. She had enough time to signal Dean to be quiet while she hid behind the bedroom door. The door slowly started to open and Max came inside, Dean stood up but didn't move anymore, he looked at Buffy who shook her head in a signal for him not to do anything stupid. When Max was inside the door shut again. Buffy was directly behind Max now. She tried to stay as still as possible. Dean headed for Max but he was thrown backwards into the wall, the wall cracking underneath him, and he fell to the ground.

Buffy inched a little closer to Max.

Dean got back up from the floor.

Max pulled out Dean's gun.

His step mother looked at him in devastation, "Max!"

Max let go of the gun and it hovered in the air, triggered itself, and pointed towards his step mother, "No. Max." she cried. (DEAN starts to move, but the gun moves with him.)

Dean tried to move in front of her but the gun pointed at him, "Stay back. It's not about you." Max said coldly.

Dean saw that Buffy was right behind Max now, she pointed at the light fixture above her, Dean turned his attention back to Max before Max could realise, "If you wanna kill her, you gotta go through me first."

"Okay." Max said with a cold smile and the trigger started to pull back but before it could go off Sam kicked open the door.

When Max moved a little to face the door Buffy quickly moved behind him before he could see her and jumped and grabbed hold of the light fixture, giving Max a swift kick to the face, she landed back on the floor and kicked the gun clear across the room before Max could fire it. Dean pulled Ms Miller onto the floor so she was hidden behind her bed before he went for his own gun. As Buffy went for Max he started to throw stuff at her but being the Slayer she was able to swat it all away like annoying flies. Until she went to punch him and she went flying into the window, her head and upper body smashing through the shutters and the glass. Her body was pinned where it was, she couldn't get back upright, and turning her head she could see the front porch underneath her.

As Dean went for it Max pulled the gun towards him and it floated back in the air again. Pointed at Dean.

"No, don't! Don't! Please. Please, Max. Max, we can help you, alright? But this—what you're doing—it's not the solution. It's not gonna fix anything." Sam explained, trying to reason with him

Max looked at Sam in realisation, "You're right"

Sam gave him a small smile, Max was finally coming back around, but his face fell when Max turned the gun towards him and shot himself in the head.

"No!" Sam screamed.

As soon as the shot was fired Buffy felt that rope that held her in place snap and she was instantly falling backwards. She had enough time to try out in surprise and grab the edge of the windowsill before she landed head first onto the pavement.

Dean was at the window in a heartbeat and held out a hand.

When she let one hand go of the window, she had enough time to lift her hand up for Dean to take her wrist before her other arm gave way from the quick weight shift. Buffy had a strong hold on Dean's wrist and he on hers and he pulled her back up through the window.

When her upper half was through he took her waist and gave her some support while she brought her legs back inside. When she was safe on both feet she thanked Dean and brushed the glass off her shirt, jeans and hair. Luckily she didn't seem to have any visible cuts or scrapes but her shirt and jeans were slightly torn which she thought may have been from her body dragging along the glass as she came back through the window. All in all it was actually a good day for her injury wise for a long time.

* * *

Twenty minutes later Buffy, the boys and Ms Miller were back downstairs while police officers investigated around the house. One officer was talking to them about what had gone on. Ms Miller was sat on the sofa with Buffy beside her and Sam and Dean stood behind the cop.

"Max attacked me. He threatened me with a gun." Ms Miller explained as vague as she could. Dean had managed to convince her not to tell the cops about what really happened or who they were.

The officer pointed to Sam, Dean and Buffy, "And these three?"

"They're….family friends." She said with a little smile to Buffy, "I called them as soon as Max arrived, I was scared." Her voice cracked, "They tried to stop him. They fought for the gun."

The cop wrote in his pad, "Where did Max get the gun?"

Ms Miller shook her head, "I don't know! He showed up with it, and—" she couldn't go on. The events that had happened in the last few days caught up with her and she cried.

Seeing her distress the officer put his pad away "It's alright, Ms Miller."

All Buffy could make out from the sobs from the woman beside her was, "I've lost everyone!"

The officer turned to Sam and Dean "Okay. We'll give you a call if we have any further questions."

Dean nodded, "Thanks, officer." Dean tapped his brother on the arm, "Come on." He said as he went over to Buffy. "We've gotta go. Now" He said quickly.

Buffy nodded and squeezed Ms Miller's shoulder, "We have to go now, I'm so sorry for everything that's happened to you."

Ms Miller smiled slightly and pulled Buffy into a hug, "Thank you for saving my life. All of you."

When they let go of each other Buffy got up and gave her a quick goodbye wave before leaving the house. Sam and Dean were at the porch waiting for her.

They all headed towards the car, all of them looked like they could sleep for days.

Sam shook his head as they walked, "If I just said something' else. Gotten through to him somehow."

"Don't do that." Dean said.

"Do what?"

"Torture yourself. It wouldn't have mattered what you said, Max was too far gone." Dean explained.

"When I think about how he looked at me, man, right before—should've done something."

"Come on, man, you risked your life. I mean, yeah, maybe if we had gotten there twenty years earlier." Dean replied as he slowed towards the driver's side of the car.

Sam let out a long sigh, "Well, I'll tell you one thing—we're lucky we had Dad."

Dean looked up at his brother with a surprised smile "I never thought I'd hear you say that."

"Well, he could've gone a whole other way after Mom. A little more tequila, a little less demon-hunting, and we would've had Max's childhood. All things considered, we turned out okay—thanks to Dean looked back at the Millers house and then back at his brother with a smile, "All things considered."

They all got into the car and drove back to the motel. They decided they wanted to get as far away from the town as they could and so would leave immediately.

* * *

When they got back to the motel Buffy parted ways with the guys and went to her own room to shower and change and pack. The boys did the same but they worked faster. They were already loading the car up while Buffy only just got changed. After putting some of his stuff in the car Sam came back inside, "Dean, I've been thinking."

Dean walked past his brother with some shirts and put them in his duffel, "Well, that's never a good thing."

Sam was putting stray research papers and his laptop into his messenger bag, "I'm serious. I've been thinking—why would this demon, or whatever it is, why would it kill Mom and Jessica and Max's mother, you know, what does it want?"

Dean concentrated on folding his shirts, "No idea."

"Well, you think maybe it was after us? After Max and me?"

Dean stopped what he was doing and looked over at Sam, "Why would you think that?"

"I mean, either telekinesis or premonitions, we both had abilities, you know? Maybe it was after us for some reason."

"Sam, if it wanted you, it would've just taken you, okay? This is not your fault. It's not about you." He explained as he threw more shirts into his bag.

"Then what is it about?"

"It's about that damn thing that did this to our family. The thing that we're gonna find, the thing that we're gonna kill. And that's all."

There was a small silence before Sam got the courage to speak up, "actually, there's, uh, something' else, too."

Dean moved over to a dresser and took the stray items of his draped over a chair, "Oh, jeez, what?"

"When Max locked me in that closet, that big cabinet against the door—I moved it."

Dean laughed as he opened a drawer and took out the last few items, "You've got a little bit more upper body strength than I give you credit for."

Sam shook his head, "No, man, I moved it—like Max." he said seriously.

The laughter was gone from Dean and he stopped folding, "Oh. Right."

"Yeah." Sam said quietly.

Dean turned and grabbed a spoon from the table and held it out to Sam, "Bend this."

Sam turned to his brother in annoyance, "I can't turn it on and off, Dean."

Dean lowered his arm, "Well, how'd you do it?"

His brother shrugged, "I don't know, I can't control it. I saw you die, and it just came out of me, like a punch. You know, like a freak adrenaline thing."

Dean put the spoon back and continued packing, "Well, I'm sure it won't happen again."

"Yeah, maybe. Aren't you worried, man, aren't you worried that I could turn into Max or something?"

Dean rolled up his jeans as he spoke, "Nope. No way. You know why?

"No. Why?"

"'Cause you've got one advantage that Max didn't have." Dean said as he zipped up his duffel.

Sam snorted, "Dad? Because Dad's not here, Dean."

Dean put on his leather jacket, "No. Me." He smiled, "As long as I'm around, nothing bad is gonna happen to you." He threw his duffel over his shoulder and walked over to his brother, "Now then, I know what we need to do about your premonitions. I know where we have to go."

"Where?"

Dean was quite for a moment, "Vegas." His face lit up in a smile and for a moment Sam was confused then just scoffed, picked up his bag and left the room, Dean watched as his brother got in the car, "What? Come on, man. Craps table. We'd clean up." He joked. When Sam was in the car Dean's face fell. He didn't know what was happening to his brother, but he knew it was bad and he feared it was something he wouldn't be able to fix.

"Dean." Buffy's voice broke him from his thought and he turned to see her walking towards him, both her hands full with her bags and concern on her face. Her hair was damp and starting to curl, her face was makeup free and she wore black yoga pants an emerald turtle neck and her black leather jacket. Dean thought Buffy was her cutest when she was dressed down. He gave her a small smile as he shut the door behind him.

"Are you okay?" she asked as she threw her bags into the back.

When he'd locked the door he smiled at her, "of course I am. I'm always okay."

"Is it about Sam? You're not the only one that's worries you know."

Throwing his bag into the back of the car, Dean looked at his brother who was sat patiently inside and he sighed, "I know." He looked back at her when he felt her hand in his with wide eyes.

She gave him a small smile and his hand a little squeeze, "I'm here if you need to talk." She said quietly.

When he only nodded, she let go of his hand and made her way to the car.

Dean stood there on his own for a couple of seconds, not sure how to process the last few minutes in his head. Instead he shook his head and just smiled a little knowing if he needed her she'd be there

* * *

That's the end of Nightmare. Sorry it took so long to update. Struggled with this one as I'm not a fan of this episode haha The next one will be Ep 16 "Shadow"... Sam reunites with someone and Buffy finally gets to meet Daddy Winchester...


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